Email: How to Keep Yourself from Drowning in It

 

 An inbox that is overflowing with to do items is stressful and chaotic. When was the last time you cleaned your inbox? Do you have 4,276 emails in your inbox? How much of it is junk? Personally, when I have an overflowing email inbox, I feel scattered and disorganized. All of the newsletters, facebook friend requests, and work related items etc could take a psychological toll on you. A clean, organized inbox will help you get more productivity out of your day. Here is how you can get your head above water and begin breathing again.

1. Create an actions folder or label: This folder is where you store the emails that you need to take action on. Anything other than just replying or filing should go in this inbox. Just think of your inbox as your physical desk at work.
2. Pick and File the Urgent: Go through your inbox and move the 10 or 20 urgent items and file them in your new action items folder.
3. Now create an Archive folder or label: Everything else outside of urgent and action items need to be checked and moved to the Archive folder. By moving everything else to this archive folder you now have some breathing room. We will get to these later.

 

New Emails

 

You need to set some rules for new emails. Your new email policy should be, not to allow emails to pile up in your inbox.

1.      Process your emails starting from the top: When you open your email, start from the top. Make a decision quickly and move on one of the following action items; 1. DELETE- you need to learn how to use the DELETE button liberally. 2. ARCHIVE- if you think you may want to look at this later just check and move to your archive folder. 3. REPLY- work on making your replies as short and sweet as possible. This may be more challenging in a work setting but you can give it a shot. 4. Move emails that you must take action on to your action items folder. After you have finished go to the action items folder and write those items down on your to-do list.  

a.      Try not to spend longer than 30 seconds on an email before deciding what to do with it. If you learn to process your emails quickly, you will be done with your inbox in no time.

b.      After you have processed your inbox, then start transferring the to-do items onto your to-do list. It is important that you don’t start on the to-do items while you are processing your inbox. You could end up stuck on an item for 30 minutes and forget to finish processing your email.

c.       If you plan to read newsletters, service catalogs and so on, just create and transfer these into a temp folder. I suggest you just delete them and be done with it. You are never going to read them all anyway.

Stay Committed

 

Now that your inbox is more manageable, here are a few steps you need to take in order to prevent things from getting out of hand again.

1.      Stop checking email so much: Try setting a minimum of four times per day to check, process, and manage your email.

2.      Send shorter emails: Stop over explaining yourself and develop the skill of sending the shortest emails possible. Again this may be challenging for a work environment but you should still try. It may even be better to just pick up the phone and call rather than sending an email.

3.      Stop sending so many emails: The more emails you send the more you will get. Call people or walk over to the next cubicle and address the issue in person.

4.      Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe from useless newsletters, advertisements, blogs etc. If this blog you are reading now is flooding your inbox, then unsubscribe it too!

5.      Mass Delete emails: This is my favorite.

6.      Use 10 minute mail: Perhaps you want to review something online that requires you enter an email address. Go to 10minutemail.com and get a temporary email address that will expire in 10 minutes. Another solution is to sign up for a premium email service. I have a service with Yahoo that I pay 20.00 per year for. I can add up to 20 fake email addresses and call them anything I want.

I am sure you have some additional email tricks, please feel free to share in the comments section.

Salams,

The Pareto Principle (80-20 Rule)

Aisha (radiyallahu anha) narrarated;

“The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], whenever he is given the opportunity to choose between two affairs, he always chooses the easiest and the most convenient. But if he is certain that it is sinful, he will be as far as he could from it.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/503]

Do you always go about doing a task efficiently and effectively? The 80-20 Rule has helped me tremendously in the personal effectiveness area. Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule states that 20% of a task’s effort accounts for 80% of the value of that task. This also means that 80% of a task only yields 20% of the value of that task. I apply the 80-20 Rule at home, the masjid, the university, and especially at work. Following the Sunnah on personal effectiveness yields great benefits. Simply put, The 80-20 Rule requires that you;

1. Do It Now!
2. Do what matters the most first.
3. Be efficient and effective.
4. Take the easiest and most convenient path to getting things done.
5. Work without interruption to get that 20% done.

Find out what parts of your life belong in the crucial 20%, and focus your efforts there. Be absolutely ruthless in refusing to spend time where it simply cannot give you optimal results. Invest your time where it has the potential to pay off big. The first thing is to list out what you have to get done for that day. Let me give you a few personal examples.

At Home:

1. Tahajjud/Study/Fajr
2. Household Chores
3. Family Time- helping w/ homework, teaching Islam, time with spouse, board games etc.
4. Grocery Shopping
5. Check personal email.
6. Update Blog
7. Check personal voice mail and return calls.
8. Work out if I didn’t get a chance to during the day.
9. Personal Reading and study
10. Watch TV, catch up on news etc.

There are ten tasks on this list. 20% of 10 = 2. So 2 tasks on this list is more important and will give me the greatest yield on my time and give me fulfillment as well. Just because I underlined two tasks, doesn’t mean that I don’t get anything else done. Most days I accomplish what I set out to do. If something doesn’t get done, it carries over to the next day until it gets done. These two tasks are just what I feel will give me the greatest benefit and sense of accomplishment at home.

At the Office:

1. Check bank balances for properties/entities.
2. Check email and schedule tasks.
3. Bank Reconciliations
4. Cash Flow Analysis
5. Generate Financial Reports and GLs
6. Monthly recurring entries.
7. Research issues from Accountants, AP/AR personnel.
8. Meetings
9. Lunches
10. Review GLs for errors, accruals, reclasses.
11. Reports to Accountant for tax preparation.
12. Schedules for Tenant Improvement Leasing Commissions
13. Insurance Schedules

So at the office I have underlined the three tasks (20%) out of 13 that will make the greatest difference in my day at work. I do not sit on or procrastinate with these tasks. These three tasks are higher priority for this day and will get me the most recognition and personal accomplishment for this day insha Allah (azza wa jal).

You will ALWAYS have too much to do and too little time. It is said that the average person has about 300 hours of projects to take care of right now. We have books to read, surahs to learn, Arabic studies, projects at work and home, along with everything else. The fact is that you will NEVER get caught up. However, I was able to get caught up because I stopped doing things. By making a list of ten things and then highlighting the top 20%, this will be worth more than the other 80%. So select your most important task right now and discipline yourself to complete that task right now. Stay on it until it’s done. If you start out doing small things first, then you will find as I have experienced that small things tend to multiply. You will then spend your entire day doing small things. If you prioritize the big things, these will double your productivity.