I get a lot of email. When I came back from vacation this morning, I faced hundreds and hundreds of emails, from status reports to pitches and everything in between. How did I whittle this down to something manageable?
When I face a lot of email on the desktop client, there are a lot of choices – do I label it? Flag it? File it? Delete it? Archive it? Should I respond to this now? Should I put this on my calendar?
Too much choice can paralyze.
To solve this, I gave myself less choice.
It’s simple. On my phone, I have a GMail client that’s tied to the numeric keypad. I never respond to email on my phone because frankly, that’s a pain in the ass. So with my phone’s limitations – gladly accepted – I have four basic verbs:
7 – Delete
8 – Flag as spam and delete
9 – Archive
and of course, do nothing and leave the message there.
Without an option to reply, without all the other clutter, and just four basic verbs, I can clean up my inbox very quickly and productively. Delete, archive, or leave for the desktop client for things I need to respond to or do. It’s a great first-pass filter that I can use on the road or when waiting in a supermarket line that helps me maximize my time at my desk.
Give yourself less choice and see if it makes you more productive!
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