E-mail key #1: Be Proactive
Be Proactive? Is this a repeat of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?!
Not quite. But a fundamental principle that lies within Covey’s first habit is very appropriate here: ‘between stimulus and response lies the freedom to choose’. When it comes to e-mail, it appears many of us have given up that freedom to choose.
Picture the scene. You are enjoying a relaxing bath in the comfort of your own home. Everything is quiet. You feel at ease. Suddenly, you hear the noise of a letter coming through the letterbox and hitting the floor. What is the appropriate response? Do you immediately jump out of the bath to see what might be in that letter with the possibility that you may not return? Do you wait until you have happily ended your bath and happen to be passing by the resting envelope? Do you sit there in the bath thinking about what could be contained in the letter and wondering how bad it might be?
Unfortunately, all too many of us are jumping out of the bath multiple times every day. We have forgotten that we have the freedom to choose our response to that stimulus. Until we re-establish in our minds the appropriate priority for e-mail, then all the efficiency techniques, short-cuts and tricks in the world will merely paper over the cracks.
Being proactive in our approach to e-mail relies on the following:
- Think of your e-mail inbox in the same way as you would a paper inbox that would receive memos and letters from colleagues, friends and locations all over the world. Every now and again, a new item lands in the inbox. You process the items in the inbox at an appropriate time. It generally does not have the highest priority.
- Manage your e-mail. Do not let your e-mail control and manage you. Resolve to learn about the best practices in e-mail management, inbox processing and mail authoring. Then apply them. Do not accept that bad habits cannot be changed.
- Remember that your e-mail is not your job. Many knowledge workers fall into the trap where they believe that if they’re responding efficiently to incoming e-mail, then they are on top of their jobs. This is rarely true. They may not even be on top of their e-mail. Key objectives and outcomes take top priority. E-mail is a tool, a means of communication that helps us get there.
The first key to mastering e-mail is to ensure we have the appropriate perspective. Let’s understand e-mail for what it is. Let’s remember what our priorities are and how the effective use of e-mail can help us reach our objectives. E-mail is not an objective in itself. Let’s use e-mail to facilitate more focused and concentrated work. When we’re in the zone (or in the bath), let’s not jump out of there unless we have a really good reason. And checking our e-mail rarely qualifies.