Inbox 0 — The Way to handle your e-mail

We all were so excited during establishing the first e-mail account that we checked it a couple of times per day. I remember my first account which was made during computer science, only for sending messages to a classmate next to me. That new technology, new communication method, a new point of view, were so mind-blowing that we wanted more. There is a little problem. Every day while I check my work mail I think that many people are stuck in the 90s when they created their own e-mail account. Why? According to my memories, I visualize my coworkers who are sitting in front of a PC with the aim of sending as many e-mails as they can. Every day at work I receive around a hundred e-mails. Most of them are not necessary or not for me. Employees have fun during sending e-mails so that they cannot understand that it is completely disturbing and annoying.

No matter how much I try to change it, I will not handle it. Nevertheless, we should find a solution to improve this situation for our own good. The best idea is launching another system for communication, however, companies like mine are not open to new things, they are rather narrow-minded. They stick to that kind of companies we have to fight with e-mails every day.

Alas, unconscious coworkers waste their precious time on checking every e-mail as fast as they can. Although they have other tasks to do, they check all mail notifications. As a result, they are interrupted all the time. One time I asked one of my coworkers why he has checked e-mail so often. He answered: “Maybe there is something important to do at this moment”. In my opinion, when someone has an urgent case or a thing to do he or she just calls us.

First of all, we should turn off e-mail notifications. As a consequence, we will be focused on our tasks which we are supposed to do at first. In that case, we will finish what we have to do quicker and better.

Schedule of checking e-mails

With a view of our focusing and productivity, the next step is making a schedule of checking e-mails. For example, if we receive really many e-mails, we can check them once per two hours. However, we should do such a good schedule so that checking e-mail doesn’t take us more time than five minutes. Nevertheless, when we receive a task to do or a long case we will sacrifice more time for it after checking e-mails. How do we check e-mail in five minutes?

Do it faster

1. When you don’t have to reply to someone don’t do it. Even a short answer like “Ok”, “Thanks”, “Keep in touch“ etc. steals your time.
2. If you exchange the next e-mail with the same person, don’t start again with “Good morning”! You don’t insult anyone when you just reply without an honorific. By the way, you shouldn’t use a word like “welcome”. We can welcome guests in our house, as professor Bralczyk said.
3. Additionally, for your comfort, you can create folders dedicated to people with whom you exchange many e-mails. If some messages are crucial, you put them to the dedicated folder.
4. After checking e-mail your inbox should look like the sky today, that is clear. A rule is simple. You have to do something with each e-mail; check — reply or don’t reply — delete or put to the dedicated folder — continue work.

In conclusion, people are not aware of how much time we waste during checking e-mail. Even after work notifications at our work and private smartphones are turned on. We sacrifice a couple of hours per day for it. How much time is it in a month, a year? How much private time do we waste? I leave you alone with these questions.