|
Secrets to Success
Deborah Cole Micek |
Tackling e-mail is first
step to time managementPart one of a four-part series
Question: No matter how many time management courses I take, I just can't seem to get everything done. I'm working seven days a week, managing multiple projects, priorities and deadlines, and I just can't catch up. I'm feeling overwhelmed. There are more than 500 messages in my email inbox, and I just don't know how I can ever clear out my inbox. -- A busy business owner
Answer: I know just how you feel. I was in the same boat myself when I first started my own business. I'll share the system that helped me go from having a full inbox on a consistent basis, working past midnight, to having a clear inbox at the end of every week, along with a weekend to myself for a change.
First, let me commend you for being such a dedicated, hard-worker in your business. Running your own business is one of the most challenging projects you can take on when it comes to managing your time and having a life in the process.
For as many projects I was in charge of when I was the director for a social service agency back east, nothing can compare to the amount of responsibilities and positions you're in charge of when you launch into the world of business ownership.
That's why I know that if these time management tips work for a busy business owner, they can certainly work for a busy executive in a corporation.
In the next four columns, I'll share a few secrets to getting your life back, while you actually accomplish more in one day than 80 percent of executives do.
Let's first start with the common e-mail monster that's destroying workplace productivity around the world.
Taming the e-mail monster can be easier than you can imagine.
If you want to get back several hours of productive time in your work day, or gain an entire day off to spend however you'd like, by yourself, with friends or with your family each week, you can start by taking a moment to answer the following questions to analyze how you're handling e-mail.
1. Is there a sound that plays every time new mail arrives?
2. Do you answer your e-mail the second it comes to you?
3. Are you guilty of being "over-polite" in your email responses -- where you always have to be the last one to say something -- treating e-mail like a dialogue?
4. Are you guilty of replying to someone who says "you're welcome" with your a reply of your own -- continuing the conversation instead of ending it?
5. Do you have more than 75 messages sitting in your inbox right now?
If you've answered "yes" to any of the above questions, you're guilty of wasting precious time that could be used more productively.
Have you ever stopped to analyze how much time you spend checking e-mail each day, week or month?
Over the next five days, track precisely how much time you're spending on e-mail. Determine how much time you're spending working on critical communication for doing business and how much time is being wasted.
Next week, I'll share the first part of my new e-mail policy that you can model in your work day. It's the newest way to handle e-mail my coaching clients are raving over.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach at RPM Success Group Inc. Reach him at JPM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach and life strategist. Reach her at DCM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Access an expanded version of this article at www.GetCoachedforFree.com.