Now my coach has been on at me for a long time to only deal with email on 2 days a week.  But somehow that has not felt like the ‘quality of service’ I want to deliver.  So I have resisted.  Even after attending a work productivity seminar last year that clearly demonstrated that multi-tasking and jumping between tasks means that every task you are trying to do takes longer.  I still resisted!!! To find out about this workshop check out Prodsol.co.nz.

In this article I am talking about business email, not personal – but sometimes there is an overlap.  In my research I read a blog by Peter Bregman that helped me to realise that I use email to distract myself when I am feeling stuck, when I’m unsure about my next move, when I have not planned what I want to achieve that day, or when I feel lonely.  I also use it to be ‘busy’.  Why do I use it to be busy?  Interesting.  I think it is because in my world view ‘being busy’ is a justification for not doing something else – something I may be stuck on or what sure about or that may simply put me outside my comfort zone, so I check email and that is usually easy.

What makes email so compelling is that it is easy, and it looks like work so I can trick myself into believing that it work because I am delivering quality service to my clients and prospects!

But what I realise is that it actually adds to my ‘busyness’ and not to my productivity.  It also sets unrealistic expectations about my availability.  I am not available to everyone all day every day.

It also feels legitimate, even responsible. I’m working. I need to make sure I don’t miss an important message or fail to respond in a timely fashion.

But it’s become a serious problem. When I don’t control my email habit, I am controlled by it. I’m not managing my time, it’s out of control.  Everyone I know complains about email overload.

Email pours in, with no break to its flow. And like addicts, we check it incessantly, drawing ourselves away from meetings, conversations, personal time, or whatever is right in front of us.

But it’s not just the overload of email that’s our problem — it’s the inefficiency in how we deal with it. Each time we check our email whether at our computers or on the fly, we lose time pulling out our phones, loading the email, reading new emails without taking action on them, and re-reading those to which we haven’t yet responded. Then, back at our computers, we re-read them again.

Finally though it’s rattling us. According to USA Today the number of lawsuits filed by employees claiming unfair overtime is up 32% since 2008. The major reason for the increase? Email on devices like smartphones is intruding on our personal time.

The solution, I believe, is hidden in my post-vacation email experience.

Instead of checking email continuously and from multiple devices, schedule specific email time during the day while you are at your computer. All other time is email vacation time.

We are most efficient when we answer email in bulk at our computers. We move faster, can access files when we need them, and link more quickly and easily to other programs like our calendars. Also, when we sit down for the express purpose of doing emails, we have our email heads on. We are more focused, more driven, wasting no time in transition from one activity to another.

I have now decided to bulk process my email twice times a day in 30-minute increments, once mid-day, and once before shutting down my computer for the day.  That means that it is usually only ½ a working day before someone gets a response, unless I’m away or at meetings.

Outside my designated email times I don’t access my email — from any device — until my next scheduled email session.   A tip recently shared with me by Helen Corban of Reach Potential (www.reachpotential.co.nz ) is to have Outlook tuned to calendar and to turn off all beeps, warnings, notices of new mail.  That has made a huge difference.  I don’t access email on my phone.

Another tip that helped is to schedule email for midday NOT first thing in the morning.

When the urge to check arises — and it arises often — I take a deep breath and feel whatever feelings come up. And then I focus on whatever I’m doing, even if what I’m doing is waiting. I let my mind relax.

Here’s what I’ve found so far: I don’t miss a thing.

In fact, it’s the opposite. I gain presence throughout my day. I am focused on what’s around me in the moment, without distraction. I listen more attentively, notice people’s subtle reactions I would otherwise overlook, and I’m more productive, more sensitive, more creative, and happier.

I’m also going through my email faster and with more attention than before. I don’t make those I’m-moving-too-fast mistakes like copying the wrong person or sending an email before finishing it or saying something hurtful. So I’m also more efficient.

But what if someone needs an immediate response? Worrying about that is precisely the kind of misguided rationalization that reinforces our addiction. I haven’t angered anyone with my new process. In fact, I don’t think anyone has noticed my mini email vacations because responding to an email within a few hours is perfectly reasonable. And, in the off chance that they need a response within minutes, they’ll find another way to reach me, either by texting or calling.

Email is no longer an overwhelming burden to me. I’m spending an hour and a half a day on it, which for me still seems a lot, and maybe I’ll be able to cut it down further.

You may need more or less time per day depending on what expectation you have set with yoru customers, staff, clients,  or work colleagues.  Experiment and then schedule the appropriate time slots.

Of course if you are in customer service then it is a different matter.  It’s your job to be answering emails as quickly and efficiently as you can.  In this case you might consider setting up an automatic response giving people an immediate response and an idea of how long they might need to wait to get a full response from you.

If you’re wondering what level of response time is appropriate for you – you could ask your customers and see what they think is right, what level of service they believe they are paying for.  It’s possible of course that what they think they are paying for and what you are willing to provide is a bit out of whack.  In that case renegotiating service levels might be required – or maybe they just need to be clarified.

I’ve found the hardest part is resisting the temptation to check during my off-email hours and I sometimes still do email work in the evening – but I’m working on that.  It’s difficult to change a habit.   So I’m working on when I have the urge to check email, I check in with myself instead. What’s going on? What am I feeling? Then take a deep breath and relax into an undistracted moment.  A really present moment.

• Your customers want to buy from a convenient local business – let them know you are local
• Your customers want to be reminded of the services you offer – so they don’t have to remember
• Your customers like to buy from people they know and like – sponsoring a local kids sports team is a very likeable activity
• Your customers want to know they can trust you – do you look more trustworthy if you sponsor a local sports team?
• Your customers want to feel connected – they want to know a little about you and increase their sense of community – sponsoring a local sports team…
• Your local kids’ sports team is high energy, high visibility, positive, fun and your whole team will feel good about the promotion.  It’s a really positive talking point.
• It also has a positive cost/benefit ratio compared with a static advertisement stuck in one place where only a small portion of your potential customers are looking.

Please call me on 649 4129485  or email bridget@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz if you’re interested to talk more about this.