Email Productivity Gems Videos
After you review each of these videos, we’d love your comments, below. What tips will work best for you?
Note: If this is your first time here, it’s best to start with Video #1 below and view them in consecutive order.
Video number one: Released January 12, 2:00 EST
Here’s video #2: Released January 16 –How to manage the deluge!
Here’s video #3: Released January19 — How to Make Your Email messages Uber Productive
After each video, we would love to see your thoughts about our suggestions, comments about how it has worked for you, and questions it may have inspired. Don’t hesitate – comment NOW!
And if you’ve loved what you’ve learned, check out our eBook with 100 similar tips!
Loved the video – great tips to help me curb my interruptions!
Great Video
Thanks, Sal. I trust you’ll be even more efficient with your inbox now…
i would like video no.1 thank you
hard to apply i do not work on a large company so I dont have that many!
Hi Maria,
Video 1 is on the same web page, please scroll down. Thanks for all your great comments. If you have a system that works for you – go for it!
Good Morning Marsha,
The email video’s were of good information, however doing video’s/webinar’s at the front desk can be painful, because of people coming in my area, phone calls and of course emails that I have to prioritize.. My supervisor sent this to the receptionist, administrations assistant. It all works for us in different ways!
Great advice. I’m looking forward to more.
Marsha,
Your video is terrific. Thank you for releasing it during the New-Year-resolution season.
I’m already looking forward to the next 2 videos!
It’s amazing how beneficial it is to have someone look at a topic and call out the simple things that then become obvious. Thanks Marsha.
It is the simple things that make a difference. I learned quite a long time ago the DELETE key is very important to taking control over your emails. Triage is the other important factor. I practice one simple rule which is “don’t get stuck in the weeds”.
Great rule, Janelle!
Loved the video, I’m going to try to train myself to check only 5 times a day, instead of 15!!
Dear Marsha Egan! How fun was that? You never disappoint. I’ve turned off email alerts, which were so annoying anyway, and I start your “check only 5-times-a-day” routine tomorrow. Here’s to so much time not wasted….cheers!
Always fun! Just remember, it takes 21-28 days to change a habit, so stay vigilant on the checking 5 times per day… 😉
Great reminder to pick up the phone! I’m guilty of sending an email when it would be quicker to pick up the phone and boom, 60 seconds later, situation solved. I have also removed the alerts when I get an email, except for my two executives as they often times need things immediately. This has helped email interruptions tremendously.
Great tips offered! I especially plan to use the “Sort your email, don’t work it!” What great advice. Now, I’m hoping you will have some tips on sorting. Thank you.
Thanks Robyn –They’re coming next week!
Thank you!!! Turn the dings off.
Thanks for some great tips!
I turned off alerts and notifications and I’m working on minimizing or closing Outlook and not checking/working on responding to email more than five times a day
Great, Hilary – Stick with it – it takes a few weeks to shift the habit…
Very helpful information and reminders. It gets crazy juggling business and personal emails.
Thanks for the video. Sorting not working emails.
I love the ideas – have turned off notifications and am working on my 4-5x per day schedule.
I attended a conference in Edm Alberta at which you spoke. I was intrigued and implemeted your ideas as soon as I got back to the office. Changed the way I work!! Thank you so much. I enjoy the videos… great reminder. Thank you again
-I am definitely looking forward to the sorting tips. I have about a hundred folders that I use constantly, but nothing associated with sorting my in-box; only for filing the email for information and for future reference.
-I’ve been trying for several months to limit my email reading from constantly to only X times per day, but haven’t been very successful so far….will keep at it.
-In many instances I end up ‘replying all’ as a training/mentoring tool for my direct reports because they don’t have a lot of experience yet to respond and handle things themselves.
-Plus, our business environment is such that very often we need to refer back to what happened or who agreed to what, etc. since most other departments don’t tend to even remember that they were on the emails or that they originally received the information so we must resend to get them to be accountable or as a CYA mechanism.
-This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart, so I am eagerly awaiting all of your videos on this topic! Thanks for offering them to us.
Anxiously awaiting video #2.
It’s published now! Thanks!
Sort not work is a great tip. I have my dings turned off and now I have to get into the habit of checking a specified number of times per day. I don’t think I check more that 6 or 7 now, but you can always cut down.
#2 is a very good video- thanks, Marsha! I have already made my new Action and Reference folders. Can’t wait to watch #3.
I recently started using a variant of your triage system. I go through the email from top to bottom and if it’s an action item, it is flagged and stays. All other items go to a deferral folder. It’s not much different from your process and seems to work at least partially.
Now I’m hoping you have a blockbuster for sorting. Looking forward to video # 3.
Reduce the number of sub-folders. Great advice!
Good analogy to how you open physical mail, really puts email sorting into perspective!
I can’t believe by hearing this, the amount silly emails some waste time sending …I think this as about criteria and common sense,,,, USE the phone… and make it quick.. IF urgent people will call..they need to know yr answer asap…I do it as a follow-up of a conversation to have it in written and avoid you told me
I get rid of the small stuff and answer immediately because it doesn’t take time
spam and what is not for me I delete
from my boss, I do it immediately and then store it in his folder together with its answer
if it is subject related like TRAVEL- or EXPENSES that I need it store I have a folder for each type of task that I have to do and leave it in the inbox until is done same day same morning
general info I let it in the inbox marked as already read.
why I have to do next stays bold
don’t need ANOTHER action folder because I wud need to open and check what was it abt. .a waste of time
Marsha, great webinars so far. Looking forward to catching all of them as they unload. I’ve practiced following Webinar #2 and still find I have a huge amount of E-mails in my Action File! It’s great to go in after four hours of no e-mail and only find twenty or so in my inbox but then when I move all the necessary ones to the Action File…………….and go into it……………….Urgh!!!
Make sure you’re setting a day and time to “work” those items, as part of your moving them to the Action file, Bob.
I prefer to call when it is something that would take forever to type, plus most people won’t read your whole email anyways. They tend to read the first question and miss everything else. I have been sorting my emails on a daily basis for years and really does help cut down on wasted time. I do the more important ones first (mark them with a red flag) and the rest get done when they get done.
You’re on the money honey!
Thanks Marsha! Great reinforcement of my current routine. Shared with my team.
Hi Marsha. These are great tips. I just created the folders and made a commitment to at least go back to January 1 and handle all those emails, then daily going forward, and older emails as I have time.
Mary
Re: video #2 – I’m pretty good about keeping my inbox fairly clean, but realized I’d let both the inbox and sent box accumulate a bunch of junk. I took some time today to go back through and deleted all kinds of junk I no longer need. Ahhhh! I feel so much better seeing only a few items in my inbox. Now I just need to wean myself from the constantly checking email habit; hard to do that as an administrative professional. I really like the idea about the Action A and Action B folders; I’m going to give them a try. I already use the flagging system, but need to figure out how to assign a specific date/time for them to pop back up in Outlook. Thanks for the first two videos. Looking forward to the rest!
This is a great video reminder of what I need to do to stop wasting time looking at emails all day. I still struggle with having too many emails in my inbox because I just want to read what’s inside. I tend to keep emails in that inbox because I feel that there is something important to read. It’s like collecting magazines that I want to read some day and they still pile up in the house.
OH MY – I love Video #2. Setting up an Action Folder is a great idea along with the reminder.
Video #3. Great suggestions especially the one “email is for facts not feelings” and MPUF.
Thanks
Hello Marsha !! Very much enjoying your videos AND had fallen off the wagon with the “Action Folder.” Yesterday my Inbox shrunk from over 50 emails to 3 as I moved things to my Action Folder for further consideration when I have time. You are so right about visible clutter and having your eyes run over messages as an interruption to one’s own productivity. THANKS!!
I have been using the “D” method for quite sometime time and it works beautifully.
Just watched video #2. Loved the energy that you bring to the topic–as well as the great tips.
Dear Marsha, Thank you for your great videos. I have been reading a lot lately about emails and time management for executives and their assistants; I learnt more from your videos.
I would appreciate if you could provide tips for Executive Assistants working for top executives. Would you suggest that executives give a role to their assistants to view their emails for sorting, clearing junk emails, preparing draft replies, reading long emails and provide briefing to the executive, track actions, etc. keeping in mind the sensitivity and confidentiality of some emails.
I look forward to watching your next videos.
Thank you.
You mentioned in video 3 about putting content into the subject line – however – when individuals are reviewing this on their phone, iPads or some laptops – some of the content in the subject line is not visible and they did to open the email – advice from others were to use catch phases – such as _ ACTION REQUIRED; FYI ONLY; DOCMENT FOR (whatever meeting), etc. Thanks appreciate all the handy advice you have provided.
Thanks Melissa. The use of catch phrases is another productive best practice. I appreciate your sharing.
Excellent points, I started to day with the 5 D’s and created a couple of boxes for my sorting…. This is wonderful information I am going to share with my team.
Hi Marsha:
I turned off the notifications and only check my email 4 times per day. I have never replied all because I find it annoying for myself so I figured it also annoying to others. I have found much more time in my day. Thank you so much!!!
You are MORE than welcome! Music to my ears, or should I say computer screen?
Hi Marsha:
I have set up my sub folders for action and reference. This has helped so much is saving time. I used to be that person that kept to-do items in my inbox and I looked at them every day for many days. No more wasting time with this. Thanks again for the great tips!!
Hi Marsha:
I prefer the telephone over email but I also realize that email is the new way to communicate. I make sure my subject line is always filled in now and very specific. I really notice when I receive an email that has no subject line. I will usually forward that message to myself with a subject line so that I don’t have to open to see what it is about. Thanks again for sharing these useful tips!!
All these will serve you well.
Another tip, in Outlook, if you want to change the subject line of a received email, open it, hover over the subject, type whatever you want to add, then close the message. You will be asked if you want to save changes. Click yes. Viola. The subject is changed. You don’t hafta send it to yourself that way!