My 10 Essential Email Habits

‘And none will hear the postman’s knock Without a quickening of the heart. For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?’ ~W.H. Auden By Leo Babauta Email can be a great tool, and email can be a tool for procrastination or overwhelm. It’s not email itself that decides, it’s how you use it. There was a time when I declared email bankruptcy, but these days I do it 2-3 times daily and power through it quickly and minimally. I’ve developed a set of habits that work for me, helping me to keep email minimal and productive and still be able to focus on more important work. I can honestly say that at least once a day, my inbox is empty, and that’s a nice feeling. I offer them here not to say that these are the email habits you should follow, but to show one person’s way of doing things. My Essential Email Habits The email habits that work for me: Limited email processing times. I don’t keep email open all day, nor do I open it frequently. I have come to peace with the idea that I can let email pile up to 20-30 messages and my world won’t collapse, nor will it be difficult to process to empty. Note that I call it “email processing time”, not “email reading time” — I open my email and process to empty, instead of just reading things and leaving them in the inbox. Take action. When I open an email, I make a quick decision: delete/archive, act now (if it takes a minute or two) and the...
Source: Zen Habits - Category: Life Coaches Authors: Tags: Habits Productivity & Organization Source Type: blogs