"0 outside" - a clear system to maintain zero inbox

E-mail to many is still no alternative working tool and daily suffering. Someone seven incoming letters, and he is now disassemble them quickly. Someone has 46 members, but they also razgrebot per day, because it used. For each person there is a certain threshold of incoming e-mails per day, with which he can deal without delay the processing of the next day and, accordingly, without causing blockages in the electronic box. You can call the threshold of a "natural".

If the letters more than a person can handle, you need to change your approach to email-management. This will increase the threshold to the required value in the particular case. It should be able to process 100 letters a day? So you can and 100, just use the mail to the correct method. What? Who will tell.

The only indication that a person copes with e-mail is included in the zero end of the day. The key principles of good processing incoming - the understanding that for the letter in front of you. First you need to learn how to accurately classify the letters and know what to do with each type.

All incoming messages can be divided into seven categories:

1. No need to answer, not necessarily read. The way in these two letters: archive or delete. If you get a regular newsletter, which is never read, then do yourself a favor - accomplish your goal. One action in exchange for getting rid of dozens of such letters in the future. We want to learn how to cope with the flow of emails a day? With less easier to handle the flow. Do not be afraid to miss something important. Really necessary information gets to you in another way, and pops up in front of you still at least once.
2. With attachments. This can be a notification of the need to pay for something or the information for the current or future work. For these letters is helpful to create a separate folder, but without fanaticism. Is too many folders? Simplify. In order to find something right then, I do not need a thousand folders, and the ability to use search features mailer.
3. Answer optional. The answer seems to be not mandatory, but sometimes useful courtesy. Then proceed solely on the situation.
4. With the lead time for review. It is interesting to read, but not necessarily. Try to relate to this and the previous category as many letters as possible. This is the key to effective work with e-mail.
5. Must be answered today. Everything is simple: take a responsible and now, if something really urgent, or at the end of the working day.
6. Must be answered, but not today. The beauty of e-mail that she did not chat or phone. No one expects, and should not expect a rapid response by email, if you do not talk about it in the message header. If the deadline for a response is called a certain day or you know yourself and know for how long you need to give an answer, then put these letters in the appropriate folder. For example, "Answer on Monday", "Reply on Tuesday," and so on. Now make yourself a check-list, where there is an item "process mail in the morning, postponed for today." For such purposes, as there are specialized tools for: RightInbox for Gmail, FollowUpThen.com and FollowUp.cc.
7. Incomprehensible letter. There are letters that are difficult to be attributed to any of the categories. Do not cut themselves reflections to arrange with such letters refer to one of the above categories.

Based on this classification, we need № folders for categories 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Rules efficient processing of e-mail

• Allow for 30 minutes at the end of the day to bring the inbox to zero. It is more efficient than trying to immediately respond to every email. People do not multitask. Less distractions and switching - higher efficiency.
• What to do with an urgent letter? Set yourself the interval at which to check the boxes for the day. For example, once an hour. Check box on the availability of urgent and important letters, if not available, return to work. Remember advantage of mail: is not a means for instant interaction. It is possible that the problem, which was mentioned in one of the non-urgent emails, without your participation will be decided by the end of the day, or the end of the day you will get more information that will allow to solve the problem more quickly and efficiently.
• At any time, when you do not check your email, keep the mailer closed. Turn off notifications. Rid yourself of distraction contemplation number of incoming emails. Now you have another job, and the time for the mail has not come yet. In moments of doubt as to the correctness of this approach, remember: you're not a nuclear power station, but even if it were, then the overheating of the reactor you would in any case be reported by email.
• Use their commitment in time to finish the working day to speed up mail processing. That is why it is recommended to disassemble the inbox down to zero at the end of the day. You have 30 minutes, and you want to quickly put an end to everything. In fact, it turns out a kind of game, but you can and purposefully geymifitsirovat processing email.
• Keep them short and to the point.
• Be positive and friendly.Emails can build and destroy relationships. Instead of solving the really important issues people sometimes attempt to roll the most delicate and hidden opponent called an idiot, and all the text is based on this. There is nothing strange in the fact, to express their positive sent a small nice phrase in the body of the email. Your friendliness will come back to you, and correspondence will be much more meaningful and effective.
• Letters need to rake in the reverse order. And only so. It seems that it is more logical to start with older emails, but that is our goal - zero inbox, which means that before the end of the day we get even the very first email you received. If you make yourself a favor and start to leave the last letter received today for tomorrow, the whole procedure stops working. Why do you study the competent work with e-mail, if you do not follow the fundamental rule? Continue to work as before, and the suffering.
• Open only the necessary letters to archive or delete the rest. We too misuse subscriptions to unnecessary things (subscription Layfhaker the contrary, a very necessary) and as a result get more information than can be read. How to distinguish the desired letters? There is one simple, but very effective rule: open only those letters that are addressed to a specific person for you personally. The rest - in one of the above categories at the beginning of the article on the situation.
• Create templates. Often the answers to the letter pretty standard, that is, you write the same thing. Noticed that writing this phrase often? Make a template for quick copy-paste or create it in the mail service.
• If the mail is handled, and there is still time, then you need to use it rationally. Go to the category number of letters 3, 4 and 6 and put things in order there.

This manual, which is based, as you said, is the right sort, is a great addition to the more general tips for working with mail from LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner. Do not miss 10 tips for dealing with mail from Leo Babauta. In fact, there are many additional ways squeeze out the maximum e-mail. Try to apply techniques for themselves, analyze the results and do not forget to leave in the comments your own tips to improve the effectiveness of e-mail.