EMAIL TRIAGE

I had a coaching call with one of my clients and we were going over strategies to help maximize her time. She's been blessed to have quite a few worthwhile projects land in her lap and she doesn't want anything to fall through the cracks.

Notice I didn't say anything about managing her time - I specifically said maximize it. See, my thought is that time management is a trap. You can't possibly manage something you have no control over. No matter what you do or don't do, time keeps on ticking. Practicing self-discipline is a better approach. You can control how you spend the seconds, minutes, and hours you're given each day.

My client brought up an interesting point. She stated she's making better use of her time by changing the way she responds to emails. Since we can't control how many land in our inboxes, we can certainly alter how we reply.

She's no longer writing long, drawn out, flowery responses. Succinct and to the point from here on out.

WORD PROBLEM

Let's say you have 120 emails to respond to (this was my reality - plus some - in corporate America). If it takes you one (1) minute to reply to each, it'll take you two (2) hours to get through them all. I don't know about you, but I'd rather devote that time to something else far more exciting and lucrative.

If you cut your response time in half, you could add one whole hour to your I-haven't-done-it-because-I-don't-have-time bucket. That would be 5 hours per week and 20 hours every month to focus on whatever it is you've been putting off because "there's just not enough time in a day".



JUST THE FACTS

I find I'm more apt to respond quicker to shorter emails. If you send me something direct and to the point, I get right back to you with a direct and to the point reply. Put a novel in my inbox and it's going to sit and gather dust.

OPEN BOOK TEST

Look at your last 10-20 email responses:

• Could you have saved time by eliminating filler words?
• Did it take you a couple of days to book an appointment because you went back and forth trying to decide on when/where when you could've knocked it out immediately by offering up a couple of dates and options on the front end?
• Can you create a customizable email template for queries you frequently receive?
• Can you update your website, brochure, or FAQs to address questions to prevent you from having to answer via email?

Are you using technology in the most efficient ways possible or is something that was meant to speed things up actually slowing you down?

Photo credit: Biscarotte