Get Out of Email Hell

Personal Development Lessons on Time Management Will Do It

By

Bary Sherman

Email overload and "broken" email cultures are impacting today’s workers to the point where they feel each day is like living in “email hell” with no chance of reducing the stress levels of their daily work lives.  Workers are overwhelming to the point where they are not sure what emails to address first and where to put emails they want to keep so that they can find them at a later time.  According to PEP Productivity Solutions’ White Collar Productivity Index, office workers are spending about 9 hours per week just on email management, which does not include the time spent actually researching and answering the flood of daily emails.    

The hours per year spent by U.S. workers just to “manage” their email is costing organizations billions of dollars per year.   This does not take into account the “cost” of poor customer service or employee stress.

Email problems are more about broken cultures and lack of protocols than anything else.  Workers can take several common sense, practical steps to help themselves better manage their emails and save time.  Yet, perhaps most importantly, senior management, not IT departments, must step up to the plate and lead cultural change.

Some of the things individuals and organizations can do are:

1. Learn to use the “rules” tool available in most email systems
   
   The “rules” tool can automatically take specific actions on incoming emails as you direct it to.  For example, move an email to a folder or delete an email that contains certain words or is from specified individuals.
   
   
2. Delete all information when it loses its “value”
   
   Emails get old and loose all value quickly these days.  When you look at an email and determine that neither you, your team or the organization would find the included information of value, simply delete it.  We find that more than 50% of the email that most people retain have lost all of their value.
   
   
3. Create an e-mail filing system that reflects the way you think
   
   What is actually being created is a hierarchical outline similar to the outlining technique most of us learned in high school where big subjects are divided into smaller and then again smaller sections so that they may easily be organized and therefore “found’ at a later date. Any folder names you create should reflect how you would think if you were looking for this information six months from the time your created it.  This concept is explained in detail in chapter 3 of the ePEP™ Program.
   
   
4. Do not sent cc’s for FYI – it’s really CYA
   
   There is this great tendency for us to want to make sure that everyone knows what we’re doing, what we’re thinking, or simply that we’re busy.  Well, everyone is busy.  Replying to an email with lots of cc’s is the best way to waste your and other people’s time.  Be bold and learn effective decision making skills that will tell you if your cc has value or is really just a CYA.
   
   
5. Send less emails – get less emails
   
   It’s really about that simple.  If you send more emails, your going to get more emails as replies to your emails.  Think it through carefully before sending cc’s on your emails.  Would the people I am cc’ing on this email find value in reading it?  Even emails that have no value tend to be replied to because most of us think this is the “courteous” thing to do.  Take a big step in getting out of email hell by reducing your emails by 50% and you will see your incoming emails reduced by 50%.
   
   
6. Delete all cc’d email to you without reading them that contain 3 or more cc’s
   
   When you get an email that has you as one of 3 or more cc’s, it’s almost certain, unless stated otherwise in the Subject Line, that this email, for you, is purely informational with little, if any, value and that you really did not need to receive it in the first place.
   
   Test this concept by keeping track for two weeks of all emails that you get where you are one of three or more cc’s.  Then determine what you will do in the future as far as reading or deleting all email where you are one of 3 or more cc’s.
   
   
7. Set regular times each day to address email and stick to the schedule
   
   Most of us still jump and want to look at email when either the audio or visual indicator of new mail shows itself.  First, turn off these signals; then proactively decide how many times per day, and at what time/s, you are going to address your email.  Set these times on your electronic calendar and stick to the schedule you have decided upon for two weeks.  Then modify this schedule as needed.  Email should work for you—You should not be working for email.
   
   
8. Use the Subject Line to clearly state what is in an email
   
   This is as easy as it gets.  If you can’t understand what an email is generally about by reading the Subject Line then it’s poorly worded.  Make sure that you use clear and complete language in your subject lines so people will know what your emails are about before opening them.  Give feedback to others if their email subject lines do not give a clear picture of what their emails are about.  Also, you might try, being very brief, to send your entire message in the subject line - this often works.  
   
   
9. Establish email protocols for the entire organization, from top down, to follow
   
   As with any team, we all need to be playing by the same rules if we are to work at the highest level of effectiveness.  What works is for clear protocols (rules) to be established on what will be sent by email, how cc’s are to be used, and what the expectations are as far as reply time.  Email protocols must be followed by all members off the organization from new hires to the most senior leaders.  Just like most rules & procedures, your email protocols should be considered in need of “continuous improvement” and be routinely reviewed & updated when necessary.
   
   
10. Tell people you are emailing what you need and when you need it
    
    Emails, should be as clear and as brief as possible.  Try cutting your email word count in half.  You will probably find that your emails are clearer.  If you are continually asked for clarification of your emails, consider a course in effective writing skills.

For helpful time management tips and proven methods to help improve your productivity and finding systems please consider the ePEP™ Program or contact us at 760.731.1400  or bary.sherman@PEPproductivitysolutions.com.