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Showing items tagged with "new year’s resolutions" - 4 found.

Quiet and Slow to Reduce Email Overload in 2014

Posted Monday January 6th, 2014, 10:30 am by

How did you spend the holiday period?  Were you deluged with emails on your return to work? I spent my time de-cluttering, not just my inbox but paper files, desk drawers, cupboards, you name it.  It’s amazing that I am still here!  There was also time to reflect on priorities and how best to manage my time and resources in 2014.   At the end of 2013 the #HBRogues introduced me to ‘Quiet‘ by Susan Cain.  A book on how naturally quiet people operate very successfully in the very noisy world in which we live.  Being a noisy person this gave me much food for thought.  What if I were a little quieter?  How does one create space for others to talk?  Reading ‘Quiet’ prompted me re-visit ‘In Praise of Slow‘ by Carl Honore.  Both have helped me formulate some work related new years resolutions which will also hopefully spill over in to my private life.   Here are my five new years resolutions.

Work specific

  1. Think (long and hard) before saying ‘yes’ so that I don’t over commit and then have to re-jig my schedule to fit in everything.
  2. Write shorter quieter emails and avoid replying to emails either late at night or in haste especially when cross.
  3. Reduce the number of times I check my emails on my iphone, instead use the time away from the office to think and soak up the surroundings (be they work or social).
  4. Set aside one afternoon a week which is email, social media and meeting free.
  5. Be more visual (and creative) and learn to use Infographics instead of so many words.

Personal

  1. Switch off by 11.00 pm and follow my own medicine as per my recent post on The Huffington Post.
  2. Notch my golf handicap down a couple more points.
  3. Make time to read one good book a month.
  4. Learn more about wine through attending some courses.
  5. Improve my mindfulness techniques in order to shut out the noise and quieten my brain especially late at night.

Dare to share – what is your number one new year’s resolution?

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Smart Email Management Goals for 2013

Posted Friday January 4th, 2013, 9:30 am by

Empty Wardrobe – Empty Inbox

2012 saw the volume for email traffic rise by at least 10% and certainly my inbox is starting to bulge again.  Email overload is rising (and hence email stress its direct descendant).  Do I declare inbox bankruptcy like so many before me.  The only trouble is that unlike a bank there is no bale out if I lose  a valuable email.  Yesterday I  spent four hours clearing out my sent items and lots of old folders.  It felt just like clearing out the wardrobe of all those old clothes which one hangs onto just in case either they come back into fashion or you lose some weight so once more you can get into those skinny fit jeans!

In the case of the inbox it was old projects and possible joint ventures which had long since past their sell by date.

As a result here are my top tips and indeed my own goals for limiting the effects of email overload and email induced stress.

  1. Write like a man – shorten my emails by 10 to 20%.
  2. Reduce the number of time I check my inbox by 20% (to about five times a day).
  3. Stop feeling I must reply to every email out of courtesy – after all I don’t reply to all my phone messages and especially those which are sales calls.
  4. Have at least one ‘No Email Day’ every quarter.
  5. Use a file sharing system like Dropbox for sending large attachments.

What are your goals and plans for 2013 to help you save time and unchain yourself from the inbox?

Do you need some help slimming down your inbox for 2013?   Call us and we can discuss how our Brilliant Email Management workshops and coaching can help you and your business.   Alternatively, subscribe to our free monthly   e-briefing.

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More New Year’s resolutions to overcome information and email overload

Posted Friday January 7th, 2011, 9:30 am by

Its great to see so many people working to fight this new business disease ‘information/email overload’ which is draining our productivity.  Jonathan  Spira at Basex estimates that this disease is now costing US business at least $997 billion per year.  For more and to see his new year’s resolutions see http://bit.ly/hq9FkO.

What are you doing to help stop the email overload pandemic spreading?

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Email overload the new year’s resolutions

Posted Tuesday January 4th, 2011, 9:52 am by

Email overload really does take its toll on individual’s and business’s productivity.  For a reality check use my Cost of Email Misuse Calculator.  It’s not just the quantifiable lost time and money, it is also the hidden costs such as the distortion of the work-life balance, stress and higher carbon foot print. See earlier blogs.
With this in mind here are my New Year’s resolutions to help me be a little more productive and less addicted to my email.

  1. Check them no more than five times a day.
  2. Stop emailing after 10.00 pm.
  3. Use alternative media more, such as the phone, my blog, LinkedIn and Twitter.
  4. Continue to spend about thirty minutes a week on email housekeeping and slimming down my inbox.
  5. Check my emails more carefully for typos and spelling mistakes (hard to spot errors when you are dyslexic).
  6. When in doubt – put the email in the draft box and re-check a few hours later as to whether or not it really needs to be sent.
  7. Remember, that not every email needs a reply.

Being cited as an expert and the Emaildoctor on Twitter everyone expects that I will have it sussed, but there is an element of being both the tailor’s daughter and the worst patient.  These are my personal goals for 2011 to contribute towards reducing the email overload that confronts us all.
What are your new year’s resolutions to help the fight against email overload and its drain on personal and business productivity?

There is a free copy of ‘Brilliant Email‘ for the best response.

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