Email. It’s all our Fault.

Chances are you’ve never seen this picture before – it’s the image you get when you reach zero inbox in Outlook. I don’t mean to brag (I really do), but I see this twice a day on weekdays.

‘I wish’ you are probably thinking. But are you really?

I have three theories about emails. Firstly, they are a status symbol for how busy and important you are. How often have you or a colleague said ‘I’ve been away for one day and I come back to 125 new emails, what is that?’ or something similar.

Secondly, we use our email inbox as a really poor default ‘to do’ list. Don’t have time to do it now, fine, just leave it there for later. So you leave it there for later, and then read it again, but you don’t have time for it now so you just leave it there for later. And so the cycle continues. It’s a terrible to do list because it keeps getting longer, so of course you don’t have time to do it.

We are in a bad habit of endless checking. And by endless, I mean up to 38 times an hour endless. I don’t even need to quote a study here, because you’re probably doing it yourself anyway, so don’t need to be convinced.

I came to these theories because it described how I used to approach emails. The first time I got down to zero inbox it scared the living daylights out of me. I actually started to question my own importance and value I was bringing to the work world and felt a bit lost. If I don’t have any emails in my inbox, do people value my opinion? Do I have any work to do? What do I do now?

How crazy is that?

So my third theory is the big one - the avalanche of emails isn’t the problem. We are. As we tend to do with technology, we blame the tool rather than how we use it.

It’s time to change that.

Now I know that as an EA, your life is pretty much run by emails, and not only your own, but those who you support. So here’s a couple of ways you might be able to start wrenching back control of your work life from your inbox.

Agree with your executive how often you PROCESS emails
Processing means replying or take some type of action. Generally as a rule I suggest twice a day (three times if really necessary).

Agree with your executive how often you will CHECK emails
Checking means looking for urgent requests (and I mean those you see as urgent!). Again, as a rule I suggest every 45 mins.

Educate people regarding how you manage emails
The first time someone doesn’t get a reply from you within 2 mins of them sending an email, they will call to see if anything is wrong. So communicate the new way you are working to ensure people know where they stand. And for anything that is so urgent it has to be addressed now (and can’t wait 45 mins), then it really shouldn’t be emailed anyway – they should either call or come and see you directly.

By giving yourself some structure around how often you process and check emails, you’ll give yourself time to actually get on and do some real work.

Article by Kate Fuelling
Pioneering mindful information solutions in a digital world.
Author of Digital by Design: How to get the most out of your Information, Processes and Technology

The Definitive Guide for Small Organisations with a Big Purpose

Website www.KateFuelling.com