From the course: Time Management Fundamentals

Processing an example email

From the course: Time Management Fundamentals

Processing an example email

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- Let's process a few example emails. Here's a newsletter, but I don't want to keep getting it. What is the next step? Well, the next step is to unsubscribe. When will it be done? Because it will take five minutes or less, I'll do it now. I click on the unsubscribe button and see the confirmation. And where is its home? After I unsubscribe. I know for certain, I don't need this again, so I delete it. Next, here's an email from Neha asking if I can attend an appointment with her next week. So what is the next step? To check my calendar. When it will be done? I can do it in five minutes or less. So I open the calendar. But the time she suggested will not work for me. So I need to repeat the processing system. What's the next step? Send a reply to Neha proposing a new time. When will it be done? Now, because it can be done in five minutes or less. I reply and hit send. And where is its home? I'm done so I'll archive it. But let's imagine another step was needed. Maybe I need to make sure this meeting happens. In that case, there's a next step after this, right? I'm waiting for a reply. So I have a couple of options. First, I can create a task reminder for myself to follow up with her in a few days. I could copy the email and paste it into that scheduled reminder or some email apps have a snooze feature. This brings the email back into my inbox at a scheduled time. I can go to the sent folder, select the email I sent, and snooze it for a few days. Let's do a more involved example. A supplier asks me to at options on their website. What's the next step? Visit the site. When will it be done? Well, I want to put some thought into this. It may take me 30 minutes. Since that's more than 15, I know it must be calendared. I open the calendar, create a new appointment and enter the email info. By the way, some email apps that are integrated with a calendar may allow me to drag the email to the calendar. I schedule 30 minutes making sure I have buffer time on either side so I don't overschedule. If I wanted to, I could color categorize this to identify the kind of work I'm doing, but that's optional. Finally, where is its home? Well all processed email except for obvious deletions go into the archive. Now it's your turn. Pause the course and practice what, when, where processing your email for one hour. The time spent will help you develop a lasting, productive habit.

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