5 rules for managing your e-mail
From Future of Real Estate Marketing
By Katie Lance, Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
E-mail can be very stressful! As you sit at your computer, trying to get things done, and more and more e-mail comes in, your "to do" list keeps getting bigger and bigger!
About two years ago I made the conscious decision to take back control of my e-mail and not let it get me stressed out. I was really inspired by a presentation from Merlin Mann from 43 Folders that I heard at Real Estate Connect SF a while back. He promotes the concept of "Inbox Zero."
I don't think there will be a day for me where I achieve that goal -- but there are few 'rules' I live by when it comes to e-mail to keep it manageable.
Here are 5 things rules I live by to help me stay sane -- and also help to keep my Inbox to 20-40 e-mails max at any one time.
1. Don't have your e-mail open all day long, and turn off those "bings." E-mail can be the most distracting thing. You are working on something and then "bing!" you have an incoming e-mail and you get distracted. Make sure to take the "bings" off your phone, too!
I check my e-mail probably every 15-20 minutes or so. I check it more often if I am waiting for something deadline-driven, but otherwise I don't let it dictate my to-do list of that day.
2. Work backwards. Read your oldest messages first. Your goal is to move fast -- get through those e-mails that are a couple of days old. Reply, delete or file -- and then move on to today's e-mails.
3. Deal with e-mail once. It's like snail mail -- don't go to the mailbox, grab all your bills and junk and then leave it in a pile. Stand by the trash, throw out the junk -- put the bills where they need to go and then move on.
When you get an e-mail, don't read it and then let it sit it your Inbox. Either delete it, reply and then delete, or reply and then file into a folder. Within your e-mail, make sure you have folders or labels set up.
You can set them up by month, by project, by client name -- whatever makes most sense to you and your business. If you are an agent, make a folder for each client. Every e-mail you get goes right in there, and out of your inbox.
4. It's the end of the day. Get your inbox to your comfort level. What is your comfort level? Zero? Ten? Twnenty? Fifty? Whatever that is, during the last 15 minutes of your work day clean up your inbox.
5. Don’t treat your email like a to-do list. I keep a running Word document called "working on" that I save to my desktop. As new e-mail comes in, if it requires action on my part (more than a simple reply), I cut and paste any pertinent info from the e-mail onto my list and then delete or file the e-mail away.
Otherwise your e-mail box lies stagnant with all these e-mails you have read but have to take action on. What I like best about this method is that I group things by category on my "working on" list. So for an agent, you could group things by: clients, prospects, marketing and more. This has worked really well for me.
At the end of the day, I still battle with my e-mail -- but I try very hard to be smart and move fast through e-mail!
Do you have any tips you'd like to add? Share them in the comment section below. (But don't e-mail me, Ha-ha! Just kidding!)
Katie Lance is the marketing manager for Inman News. Future of Real Estate Marketing is a part of Inman News.
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Submitted by Tony Fantis on July 27, 2010 - 5:25am.
Oh, Katie...you've found my weak spot! I'm always quick to process my email, but not very good at filing it. Thanks for some tips to remind me of my naughtiness! I need to take bigger baby steps, apparently. =)
It's interesting to see how email is changing right now. Due to web 2.0 and social media, email has shifted from mostly personal conversations to mostly business conversations and bill management. As a result, I end up saving a LOT more of my email, which makes the pile bigger and the sorting a bit uglier.
Until now I've been relying on the search feature to find old emails. For example, if I receive an email from Katie Lance I simply type in Katie Lance in the email search box and your emails pop right up. That works well for unique search term like your name, but not so well if I type in something like "mls."
I think I'll look into setting up "rules" in my mailbox, as well. I guess it will take some time to learn, but as I understand it I can set up criteria that automatically sort my email into relevant folders. One example might be to send all the email from my active real estate clients into one folder so I can handle all those emails at the same time. Another place I'll definitely use this feature is with my bills. I hate bills, so I might as well put them all together so I can be in a bad mood all at once. ;-)
Technology is kinda like school, ain't it? The learning process never ends, even when you think you're finished.
Best,
Tony =)
Submitted by Kathy Roberts on July 27, 2010 - 6:32am.
I'd like to share something that I have found helpful. If you receive an e-mail that has information you need pertaining to an appointment or a task, you can open the appointment or task and drag the e-mail into it. Then you can delete the e-mail from your Inbox. The e-mail is stored in the appointment or task and available when you need it without hunting for the e-mail.
Kathy
Submitted by Susana Field, The Steamboat Gal, Steamboat Springs CO Realtor on July 27, 2010 - 7:18pm.
this comment is actually for Tony. Sorry, but I can't help wondering what you are doing with a lot of bills in your email. I, for example, bank with Wells Fargo (no, I don't work for them!)and they have a great online bill pay system. Somehow over the years I have managed to have all of my bill paying automated, so I don't receive emails or paper bills (okay, maybe one freak paper bill a month if I had to call a repairman). Just wanted to let you know there is hope out there!
Susana Field
Exclusive Buyer Agent
Steamboat Springs, CO.
www.SteamboatGal.com
Submitted by Rolf Unterwasser on March 10, 2011 - 2:27pm.
Email makes communication quick and efficient, but can be debilitating when the inbox fills up and you know it's going to take a big chunk of time just to decide what's junk and what's worth looking at. Unfortunately, the huge virtual pile of email makes very easy to miss the messages that you really need to pay attention to. Therefore, it really is in your best interest to effectively manage your inbox and use it to your best advantage. One of the other things that you can do to make things more manageable is to make sure that you unsubscribe from any email marketing lists that you may have signed up for in the past. So, for especially those mass emails you no longer read, ask to be removed from the list. It'll help rid your email inbox of some of the deadwood that clogs things up. Here's more info on opt in email marketing: http://bit.ly/h2n7Z6