Or it shouldn’t be, anyway!
Unfortunately, many professionals in business today feel that not only is email the boss of them, it’s Ruler, Jailer, and Taskmaster combined in one.
So what’s a person to do? Is there a solution to email overwhelm? Can someone actually manage it without spending ¾ of their day on it?
In the book, Take Back Your Life, author Sally McGhee relates the following story:
Dear Sally,
Yesterday I deleted every single email in my Inbox. I sent a message to all of my staff and customers and informed them that my mail had been deleted and if there was anything I’d missed to get back to me ASAP!
Of course, that’s a very extreme example, but how’s that for taking back control?!? If you didn’t want to go that route, you could simply “archive” all those messages and send a similar email. See what happens – you might be surprised and delighted at all expected emergencies that never actually materialize!
Now, most folks in Corporate America I know receive upwards of 200 email messages a day. The ability to manage that load with any kind of real attention to detail is impossible. What we need is a better way to manage our email that includes:
- Making efficient decisions based on pre-determined guidelines;
- Effective filtering and filing methods;
- An attitude of responding rather than reacting; and
- More-often used DELETE button
That last part – about the DELETE button – is what freaks people out the most. In the past, deleting an email meant probably never being able to retrieve a message (easily) again. Thanks to an upgrade in usability, most email systems nowadays have very good search and retrieve functions that include deleted messages as well.
And, many people are AFRAID to use the delete button OR to file things away because they “might need to reference them again.” Going back to the list above and implementing these strategies will eliminate the fear of losing something important forever.
Finally, many people use their Inbox as a storage or reminder vehicle. Unfortunately, that results the average Inbox holding 1,500 – 2,000 messages at any one time! Holy smokes – that number stresses me out just writing it down!
With a few simple changes, priorities, and an easily learned new skill set, anyone can tame the email monster!
Let MBS, Inc. take you or team through a one-hour webinar on “How Not to Have 2,148 Emails in Your Inbox” (using Outlook). This is a great starting point and usually leads to one-on-one instruction for those who really struggle to find control. If you’re not using Outlook, there are still a variety of tips and tricks to help you manage that email monster using Gmail, Webmail, or another email provider.
Let us know how we can help and when you’d like to schedule your webinar: (704) 553-8082 or [email protected].