You’ve Got (Too Much) Mail! 📨
How to tame your Inbox and be more focused
Remember the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan rom-com movie, You’ve Got Mail? It was released back in 1998 when email was still a new technology. The title of the film comes from the early days of email when the Internet service America Online (AOL) would announce the arrival of something in your Inbox with a voice that declared, “You’ve got mail!”
Back in those days, it was thrilling to get an email because it was this new technology where we could instantly send messages and images to each other. But more than two decades later, email has become yet another task we must all manage in our busy work life.
In fact, managing email is one of the top challenges many clients want to discuss when we start coaching. So for this week’s newsletter, I’m going to share some of the best practices my clients have found the most helpful in taming their Inbox.
Turn Off Notifications
In order to be truly productive and creative, we need time to focus. That means not letting outside distractions interfere with our focused time. A constant barrage of notifications pulls us out of deep focus. So turn off those screen banners and sounds that notify you about new email, social media updates, or even the news.
In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport shares many tips on how to create a distraction-free environment. He emphasizes that creativity and working on things that truly move you forward will only happen when you stop distractions and deeply focus.
One of my clients actually printed off the image of the cover of the book and would post it on their office door when they engaged in deep work. That way their colleagues knew that they were not to be disturbed with a knock on the door or a Slack message during that time. It was some of the most productive, creative time for them.
Don’t Compare Your Work Style
Related to deep work, one of the biggest issues with email is that we feel like we have to reply instantly. I was recently working with a client who said they felt they had to reply right away because many of their colleagues did. They wondered whether these coworkers were more productive and better at their job than my client.
We talked about how a flurry of activity—like immediately responding to an email—doesn’t equate to true productivity. Email is a means of accomplishing goals, but it isn’t the actual goal. It’s easy to confuse activity with productivity. But only one is going to help you achieve meaningful goals.
Gary Keller and John Papasan share in their book The One Thing that we often focus on all the little things that don’t truly make significant movement towards our desired outcomes. So instead of sitting down and thinking about that one thing that could innovate your project, you get bogged down in the busy-work that actually slows down progress. It requires discipline, but focusing on the handful of things that will help you make significant strides forward will be worth it.
Set Blocks of Time for Email
Consistency is key in creating new patterns of being. It also helps us plan for and prepare our days. Having a predictable schedule will help you and your team work more efficiently, while allowing ample time for important focused work.
It’s much better to have a predictable schedule for your correspondence. It helps you plan focused, deep work time, and lets your colleagues know when to expect responses from you.
Some professionals will only respond to email for an hour or two a day. For example, they put it on their calendar that from 10am-11am, they will work on email for an hour. Then again from 3pm-4pm. That way email doesn’t take over their day and colleagues can anticipate when they will receive a response. They also make the commitment that they will respond to emails within 36 hours, so their colleagues can rest assured that they will get a response. Just because someone is emailing you at 7am doesn’t mean they will get a response at 7:02am. They will receive a response during your next block of email time.
Tell Your Team How to Communicate with You
Using your calendar to block time is important for communicating with colleagues about when you’re available for synchronous work. Equally important is telling them how you like to be communicated with. For example, some jobs require being more available than others, which means you need to share with coworkers how best to reach you.
One client set up a system with her team where if something was urgent and couldn’t wait, call her immediately. But if something was important but not urgent, text her. And if something wasn’t urgent or that important, send an email. That way she knew the most urgent things would be communicated in a way she’d receive and connote the urgency of the matter. During deep work time, someone else was designated to take over until she was available again.
As a conscious leader, also be aware that how and when you respond to email sends a signal to your team. If you’re responding at 5 in the morning or on weekends, they may feel they also have to be available during those times. One of the best features on email is the scheduled send. Even if you are working outside of your normal email hours, you can schedule your emails to send during the normal synchronous working hours with your team. This will relieve some anxiety of opening an Inbox at 9am full of emails from their leader and feeling like the weren’t “on” when the boss wanted them to be.
We have the chance here to help our colleagues break out of the unhealthy pattern of being constantly available and responding immediately. While some jobs do require quick responses (such as media relations), most knowledge workers need time to truly focus. We’ll all perform and feel much better when we can organize our time and workflow in a way that helps us focus on what matters and maintains high energy levels.
This week, consider your work style. Are you constantly “on” for your team? What’s that costing you? Is there a fear or insecurity that spurs this need to respond? Or does there need to be a broader conversation about the organization culture and expectations? How can you structure your Inbox and communication style so you focus on what really matters?
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant, and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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