Do you feel stressed out by your e-mail box? Does it scream at you about all the things you’ve not got round to doing and does the size of it makes you wince?

Decide now to stop being helpless and get control of the situation. You’ll be able to relax and it will have an overall positive effect on your self-esteem. With a few judicious rules observed and executed religiously you’ll be back in charge. You may even have the energy and time to tackle and sort out more stuff.

Here’s five rules that I use, you may have others – I’d love you to share them.

1. Only read your e-mails twice a day.
Any more often than that it’s just a distraction and your ‘busy mind’ starts of on its usual script of: “You never get anything done”. Or groaning about the stuff you’re being copied in on or asked to do. So set yourself free. Set up two regular times in the day to look at your e-mails and make sure it’s when you have the energy, time or mind-set to take action on what comes up.

2. Do Something With It
I know somebody who has saved hours by adopting for Four D’s Rule which is basically do something rather than read it and let it just sit there. Put simply the D’s are

• Delete it, If it’s not something that you’re working, or you can easily find the same info somewhere else,
• Do it if it takes less than two minutes,
• Delegate it and ideally set up a system whereby you review your week and check the things you delegated.
• Defer it if it needs more information or somebody else’s input, again make sure you can follow this up. Then her folders are organised on the basis that there are things to do now, things that need some more information or someone’s input. Then she has folders organised around her main work objectives and for members of her team, the main areas of business eg, money, sales, research etc. (You might like to look up Getting Things Done David Allen’s book)

3. Make the subject Line Work Harder
Help everyone in your team or business by insisting that the subject box is relevant. A good tip is to write it last and make it summarise the content. Keep it short and keep to the point. Break the habit of sending incidental e-mails like thank you notes and avoid forwarding e-mails on to all and sundry. It’s irritating and a distraction to all. Consider making the headline include what you want the recipient to do. Is it action required, response required, read (read before next meeting) or FYI Only. No action required, it’s reference or useful to know.

4. Make Technology Work
Get acquainted with the rules on your e-mail system. You can set up for it to delete certain e-mails before you even have to read them. Either by sender or by subject content.

5. Cut it Down to Size
Start getting ruthless with the amount that’s sitting there in your in box.. If there are thousands then they must be ancient. If your computer crashed you’d lose them and life would go on, so why not free yourself of the burden they represent.
Copy them on to a disk if you must, or archive them into a folder. Then during the two times a day you are in e-mail mode, use some of that time to file, delete or act on some of the older e-mails in your box. Imagine how it will feel to look at your e-mail in box and only see e-mails a day or so old? Also the feeling you’ll have as you productively work your way through the latest crop.

A last thought on emails - learn to write your content with your reader in mind. What will they be prompted to ask. For example ‘what if this happens?’ or ‘how do I do that?’. Close possible loops by offering alternative scenarios and solutions, or give direction on what could be done next.

Go on set yourself free from e-mail box misery – you’ll feel the benefit in many ways and your achievement will spur you on to who knows what.

Please share some insights or tips of your own. I’ll post them so that they can be shared by all.

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