WITH KEVIN Keeping Sane - Managing your Email
TODAY S COFFEE TALK Email is a wonderful tool for sending and receiving a lot of information quickly and securely. However, it s important that your personal information remains secure and safe and that you aren t open to viruses or hackers. Managing your e-mails. From Inbox to 0 Managing, archiving, retrieval Sending Emails properly Why people are so easily tricked Characteristics of scam emails Can I open this attachment? Can I click on this link? Preventing Viruses from Emails. Being Safe with Email Helpful security features built into web browsers The value and limitations of anti-virus software Q&A
YESTERBOX TECHNIQUE Today, you only read and respond to yesterday s emails. The vast majority of emails don t require an immediate, same-day response, so you can let today s new messages come in without being distracted or distressed by every one. And tomorrow when you get up, you ll already know exactly how many messages you have to get through and can more accurately plan your day. Obviously, legitimately urgent emails can be addressed today but true email emergencies are a pretty rare occurrence. Everyone gets a reply the day or session after Utilize Folders for Emails
ORGANIZING EMAIL Can you imagine having an inbox with nothing in it? Although a completely empty inbox might be unrealistic for many of us, keeping our main inbox cleared can make us more organized, and help eliminate stress. First, set up a simple filing system to help manage your mail.
TOTO-DO S - UTILIZE YOUR FOLDERS AND FILES 3 Levels of Folders Inbox Current Year Active Archive Utilize Specific Folders Move your to-dos out of your inbox and into your workspace with the rest of your tasks. Clean out your inbox Actually get to work on to-dos instead of letting them languish in inbox purgatory. Create a Subject Folder Move conversations out of your inbox. Keep your inbox uncluttered by limiting the amount of email you generate. Move items between folders as you take care of them You ll benefit from better organization, and manageable email. Archive Sent Mail every 3-6 months
2-MINUTE RULE AFTER SORTING AND PUTTING IN FOLDERS If it ll take you less than two minutes to reply, do it now. Don t wait! Schedule a meeting with your inbox. Set aside time each day to go through your email, GET YOUR COFFEE and spend less then ½ hour in cleanup Use three 20-minute check-ins at the beginning, middle, and end of the day. Then don t look at your email any other time. Don t keep it open in a browser tab, lurking in the background as you work. Turn off notifications. By dedicating scheduled time to your inbox, it won t be on the back of your mind all day long, but you ll still stay on top of your messages. Best time to clean out your inbox is within two hours after you ve started your day
DON T BE AFRAID TO DELETE MOVE EMAILS Move important Emails to the Action Folders Move Interested Emails to their folder DELETE ALL ELSE If it s that important, someone will follow up with you. So if there s even a question about whether you need to keep the email, just delete it. Your trash bin will typically save deleted emails for 30 days, so if you deleted something by accident, you can always retrieve it. But trust me: 99% of the time you won t need to. SEARCH EMAILS
BREAK THE CHAIN Delete attached Email threads when responding. Prevent a chain of email responses by editing your responses unless necessary Update Subject Lines Last Email to You Your Response Email
REPLY MANAGEMENT REPLY ONLY WHEN NECESSARY OVER-COPYING PEOPLE ON EMAILS VAGUE SUBJECT LINES OR NO SUBJECT AT ALL "We hit reply all way too much, "I should know precisely what your email is about just by reading the subject line Making your subject line as clear as possible not only helps the receiver understand what your message is about before even opening it, but is a great way to help you organize your inbox. My Filter deletes all blank subject emails SUBJECT LINES THAT DON T MATCH THE MESSAGE Pulling up an old email from a contact you haven t spoken to in a few months and hitting reply, only to send a message that is completely unrelated to the previous discussion and the original email title, is confusing to the receiver. Change the subject line as soon as the content of the email chain changes. SENDING ONE-LINER RESPONSES Replying to an email with "Thanks" or "OK" does not advance the conversation in any way. "You don t have to answer every email,
REPLY MANAGEMENT IMMEDIATELY REPLYING TO AN EMAIL BUT WITHOUT PURPOSE But sending a quick answer just to satisfy yourself that you responded quickly is not enough. "All you re doing is contributing to my email overload, and you have not helped me, OVERUSING THE HIGH PRIORITY BUTTON Focus on a reputation of someone who sends well thought out replies that move the conversation forward. Turn off email notifications and only reply to emails when you have the time to craft a proper response. Flagging your email as high priority should be done sparingly and only in real cases of urgency. NOT INCLUDING A SIGNATURE Your signature tells the receiver who you are. Your signature should include: Your name Email Address Phone Numbers "If there s no signature in your email, how do I know who you are? %678FishKill@Yahoo.com
INBOX ZERO Inbox Zero doesn t actually have anything to do with your number of unread emails? It s the: amount of your attention that s preoccupied by email the extent to which your inbox weighs on your mind. The real achievement is in figuring out a system that works for you, so email doesn t rule your life.
MANAGING, ARCHIVING, RETRIEVAL Email Archiving is the act of preserving and making searchable all email to/from an individual or subject. Copy to a Sent folder or file Start New Subject Folder by YEAR Copy All of that subject Copy back Select Subfolders when Necessary Delete ALL Sent files Annually
USING RULES Using Rules Non-Essential Email Most email programs, such as Outlook and Gmail, allow you to establish "Rules" that sort email into a particular folder as soon as it comes in. If you regularly receive email such as newsletters, blogs and article feeds, you could re-route these to another email address, or use rules, so that they're instantly delivered to a particular folder.