Notice: get_currentuserinfo is deprecated since version 4.5.0! Use wp_get_current_user() instead. in /home/iawalsh1/public_html/technical-writing/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3893
Looking for time-saver tips? This works. I get between 60-200 emails every day. 60 is low. Once I got over 480. As I run my own business, every minute is counted. Even when I worked 9-5, I kept a tight control of my email. If you don’t control it, it’ll control you.
What I want to do is get you to change your attitude towards email.
Not only that but also show you how I managed to shave over 200 minutes (that’s 3 hours every week) by just making a few changes to my daily routine. Here goes!
How To Make 200 Extra Minutes Every Week & Leave The Office Before Everyone Else
Repeat after me!
- I am not obliged to read ALL email.
- I am not obliged to subscribe to newsletters.
- I am not obliged to have a Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail account.
These are all decisions you made. Some decision are better than others.
Let’s look at how I control email so that it doesn’t eat up my day, lose potential business opportunities and (what I really want) get out of the office before everyone else.
Which email is the most important?
- Create 2 email accounts. No more.
- 1 for friends. 1 for business.
- Like Whisky and Wine, don’t mix them up!
- Close all email accounts you don’t use.
- Stop worrying. If you haven’t used it for 6 months, then what do you need it for?
When to read your email
READ THIS PART!
This is the real time-saver.
- Check your personal email LAST thing at night.
- Not in the morning — last thing at night.
Why?
Because you will ignore/delete the junk and only respond to the important ones.
If an email takes more than 100 words, call them. It’s faster.
- You now have time to focus on work when at work.
- Don’t check your personal email at work.
Why?
Stay focused.
- You’re at work to make money and look for ways to develop/expand your career.
- Instead of checking your email, read something that advances your career or that you can carry over to your work/life balance.
An example?
Sure, laser focus on sites that offer tips directly related to your line of business.
READ Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Harvard Business Review – all recommended.
Save these articles, print them out (they’re the best, right?) and use them as a reference point.
Does this really save time?
If you spend 15 min in the morning, 20 at lunch, and 15 before going home, that’s almost 45 min every day.
And I know some of you spend more than that.
Multiple 45 by 5 and you save at least 225 minutes every week – excluding the weekend.
Most of it was filler that just killed time.
Of course, we all need a break and a few laughs.
- The point is to change your work habits.
- Good habits are the foundation of (work/business) success.
Ask yourself, “If I was [name your most respected business person], would I be spending time doing this?”
Would you?
Time is the one thing you can’t get back.
A few more tips?
Here goes…
- Unsubscribe from all email newsletter except 1.
- You can keep 1 newsletter if you promise (go on, promise!) that you read every word of it. If not, you’re just skimming the text. Really, what’s the point?
- Next, setup a folder called I Will Read This Later.
- Move any emails you don’t need to read in here.
- Go back in a week’s time, scan through, and delete the ones you don’t want.
Guess what?
You’ll have deleted them all.
What other time-saving tips can you recommend?
Since I started doing this I spend less time checking through email. And I don’t miss it.
PS – remember to close Outlook/Hotmail when you’re finished. Don’t keep glancing at it. Stay focused and get your work done faster.
Then go home!
Photo: Wikipedia
