Confession: My email inbox often becomes my working “to do” list. And it kills me every time.
Setting aside for a minute how important email actually is and how frequently we should check it or respond to it, I am interested in how we interact with it.
I developed a practice a few months ago that has really helped this happen a lot less frequently.
1. I take out a yellow pad of paper and write down all the things I already know I need to do for the day or week.
2. I pick the top three or five and order them by priority. (This often involves doing the most difficult thing first, but then it’s done.) Then I work the list.
3. I check email around 11 am and 4 pm, responding to messages (if I can do so quickly) or adding the task to my list.
4. Here’s the crazy part and the secret sauce: I often lose or throw out my list. (I’m a minimalist.) Long-term projects will linger in my mind. Things that are important to others will usually prompt another email or phone call (because it’s on their list). Most of it will simply be forgotten or not get done, which in most cases means it wasn’t that important to begin with.
Some More Thoughts:
1. I found that even when I had an elaborate system for keeping track of long-term “to do” items, I would still ignore items.
2. My yellow pad list is my important list; my email inbox is my urgent list (that is, everyone else’s “urgent”).
3. I do send outgoing email at times other than 11 am and 4 pm, especially if it’s an item on my yellow pad list.
4. I try to keep one little notebook (5″ x 8″) for writing everything in. (Except the yellow pad list.)
What are your practices for separating “your important” from “everyone else’s urgent”?