Escape Your Inbox! Who is setting your priorities...?

It is so easy to end up spending your day "playing tennis" responding to emails as you gaze fixated into your inbox. Back and forth. Open, send.

What's wrong with working directly from your email inbox?

There is a fantastic quote (I wish I knew who to credit) that goes along the lines of:

"Your email inbox is the very place where OTHERS get to set YOUR priorities"

Now do you see the problem?

What more can be said? People send email to get tasks off their own plate. And on to yours.

That's not to say that you shouldn't respond to those emails. Instead, you must avoid carrying out your day in reactionary mode: responding to email requests.

If you do, chances are that you will not have time to carry out your most important tasks:

Those important priority tasks that will move you closer to your goals.

Reactionary mode is default mode. It takes discipline and planning to avoid falling into this trap.

Here are some suggestions to help get out of your inbox and focus on your priorities:

1. Set your plan for the following day the evening before

Do not deviate from this plan. Email or no email

2. Avoid checking in and out of email every 5 minutes

Try to set time around the completion of your priority tasks to check email.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff

People will dump measly tasks or troubles onto you if they can. Don't fall into the trap of picking up the task unless it is really within your remit or you can see longer-term benefits. Often you can ignore it and, if it is genuinely a priority task, you will no doubt be contacted in other ways e.g. a call to move it forward.

4. Change the culture and cut down the use of email (especially internally)

Try Slack, for example.

5. Remember that you need to 'unplug' to find great new creative ideas

In your inbox, great ideas rarely exist.

So from tomorrow, try to escape from the snare of your email inbox and let me know how you get on along with any strategies that you may have to improve productivity as it relates to email?