John T Mason

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How To Stop Your Email From Killing You

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Image courtesy of Pixabay
Image courtesy of Pixabay

You likely work where email is the number one way that people like to communicate. In fact, it’s estimated that there are over 200 billion email messages sent each day across the world, with the majority of those being in the context of business! If each of these emails were printed out individually, that would be a stack of paper over 12,000 miles high, every day! It’s no wonder that people feel like they are drowning in email.

One of the most common questions I get from folks who have seen my email inbox is “how to you do that?” If you were to stop by my desk and look at my inbox, you would see that I have less than a handful of emails at any one time. While my goal isn’t ‘Inbox Zero’, I do have a personal goal of not having to scroll my inbox up or down to see my current messages. To do that, I have to be pretty disciplined and use the tools at hand to my advantage.

You might be wondering what this has to do with leadership. As I’ve said in previous blog posts, leadership requires you to be present for your team, and if you are overwhelmed with your inbox, and answering emails all day, you aren’t able to spend time with the team when you need to. So, while this isn’t directly about leadership, it is an important skill if you want to improve your time management and set an example for the rest of your team.

Email was invented in 1972 as a way to transmit a message from one computer to another. Eventually, it became an easy way to replace the common practice of typing a memorandum (memo), which was often dictated to an assistant, typed on a manual typewriter, and then sent through interdepartmental courier. If you’ve ever used one of those yellow envelopes with a string closure and a line for you to write your name and where to deliver, you were using a relic of the memo days.

As email became more ubiquitous, the memo fell out of favor, and people found it was much easier to send an electronic message to someone, and get a more instant response. Eventually, email even started to replace making a phone call. Frankly, it can be a lot easier to send an email and wait on a reply than to have to get into a protracted conversation with the person on the other end of the line. Plus, you don’t need to worry about whether the memo got lost in transit.

But, unfortunately, email became more than a “memo” and more like instant messaging for business. And, as the smartphone gained prominence, there grew to be an expectation that you were checking your email constantly, and would respond as soon as you saw the message. How many times have you gotten a call from someone asking if you saw their email, which they just sent? Maddening!

This growing expectation of constant access, and the burden of coming to work each day and looking at an overly full inbox finally got to me about 5 years ago. I decided that I had to do something, and quickly. Like everyone else, I had a multitude of folders, each labeled for a specific project, for a sender, or even for a one time idea. I realized the number one reason I had an overflowing mailbox was because I was too busy (or maybe too lazy) to take the time to move the emails to the right folder (notice that they look like manila folders?), so they just stacked up.

Then one day, I read an article that changed the way I viewed email forever. The father of Inbox Zero, Merlin Mann, wrote that we should view emails like a peanut shell. When you eat a peanut, you don’t take what’s left over (the shell) and try to file it away neatly based on when you ate it, who you were with, or how you felt that day. When you eat the peanut, the shell is a leftover, and you should throw it on the floor. The same goes for email.

Of course, you can’t just delete every email. (well, I guess you could) So what to do? I created a single folder in my email system that EVERY email was moved to once I had worked it. (Mine is labeled with the year and the word ‘Filed’) It was scary at first, because I was sure I would never be able to find what I needed quickly later. But, with a little practice using the search feature in Outlook, I could find anything I wanted. It was all still there, it just wasn’t filed away in small, bit sized chunks like was I used to.

But, my email process has evolved over the years since, and I have a few handy tools, and tricks that I use to make my email life easier. Here are a few you might want to consider.

  • Rules – I use rules like they were candy. I have a rule for nearly everything, with the goal being to have the system do my sorting and decisioning instead of me. Some rules that I run today include:
    • High Priority – These are emails that are either marked High Priority, or come from certain people or groups. These need to be pulled out from the mix and highlighted so I see them quickly.
    • Carbon Copy – This is the classic “CYA” rule. Everybody knows that the reason they created a Carbon Copy (yes, it used to be a copy of a memo created by using a piece of carbon paper) was to make sure you were aware of something, not to create an action for you. All CC emails go to this folder, and I check it about once a week. (important: if your team has had a habit of copying you on emails, with an expectation you do something, be sure to warn them before you implement this rule!)
    • Blind Carbon Copy – The secret email. You know, the one they want you to know about, but don’t want others to know you know! I move all BCC emails here so I don’t accidentally insert myself into a conversation that I am not really supposed to know about!
    • Delete Rules – There are a number of emails that I get that, frankly, I just don’t care about. While I could block them by marking them as Junk, they don’t fit the bill for Junk emails, so I need to just delete them. For example, I used to get a lot of “system outage” messages that really didn’t pertain to me. I trained the rules to delete certain emails, or emails with certain words, so I didn’t ever have to see them.
    • Function Rules – There are a few emails that I get that are specific to my job. For example, I am part of a few distribution lists that can be seen as ‘high priority’ for me, even though the email itself might not be marked as high priority. For those, I create a rule that places these emails into a special folder that corresponds to that role.
  • Special Need Folders – These folders come in handy for items where I might need to access information quickly and not have to search for things. This is very similar to the old method of a folder for every type of email, but really is limited to just a few special folders. And example of a folder I have created includes:
    • Travel – This is a special folder that I use to move all my travel related emails into when I get them. Airline confirmations, hotel reservations, and other travel related information goes here until after the trip, then I move it to the big folder. I put it here just to make it quick and easy when I’m standing at a counter to find the documents I need.
  • Once a Year Folders – For my main folder where I move all emails once I’ve worked them, I create a new one each year. This is more of a system thing, and makes searching go a lot faster. The bigger the file, the longer to index and search over time.
  • SaneBox – This is a new tool for me, and has proven to be worth it’s weight in gold. SaneBox is a service you can subscribe to that does some of the front end processing for you. It learns what you think is important, and moves emails to a “SaneLater” folder so that you can worry about these lower priority items later. It also has some other great features like allowing you to remove the email and resend it to you tomorrow, next week, or even next month. If it’s not that important, let SaneBox send it back to you when you tell it to.
  • Processing – There are all kinds of differing opinions on how to process your email. Some suggest that you only read and respond to email a couple times a day. Others tell you that even once a day is ok. For me, that just didn’t work. But, when I do process email, I do it with a vengeance. I look at emails and act on them, forward them as a delegation, or delay them no more than a day or so. The best part about this is, when I do act on an email, I immediately move it from the Inbox to my main storage folder along with all the other thousands of emails. Out of sight, out of mind. Act and move on.
  • Junk Mail – Outlook has a pretty good Junk Mail filter that seems to catch a large majority of the emails that are truly junk. However, it seems that emails can still get through. One of the bigger culprits of emails that don’t seem to get caught by Junk Mail are newsletters. These are things I might have signed up for at some time, but now wish I wouldn’t get. I try to ‘unsubscribe’ to the various newsletters that I no longer want by clicking on the ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of the email. This takes some time and doesn’t always work flawlessly, but if you are persistent, it does make a difference. Also, now that I am using SaneBox, you can just drag emails you no longer want to a folder called @SaneBlackHole and they will do the unsubscribe work for you. So far it seems to work like a charm.

So, there you have it. While I know there are likely other great tools and techniques out there, this is what I use to make my email experience less of a burden. For me, having a list of emails that I have to look through every day (even though I have already worked on them) felt like I was never out from under the pressure. Just working the emails, and getting them out of my inbox, made a huge difference in how I felt, and the sense of accomplishment went way up once I got it under control.

If you want to get started, here is my biggest suggestion. Pick a date (maybe two weeks old), and move ALL of the emails older than that into a single folder (nows a great time to start that 2016 folder) and let them go. If you need them, you can find them, but you likely won’t. Once you have a manageable number of emails you can work with, get started creating rules and let the system do the work for you. You will be glad you did!

If you have any other great techniques for managing your email, share them with the group. We’d love to hear what you do as well.

5 Things To Remember When The Pressure Is On

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Image courtesy of UnSplash
Image courtesy of UnSplash

You’ve likely experienced a feeling of overload at times, when information seems to be flying at you at a dizzying pace. There are a number of different priorities and tasks going on, and new information and issues requiring your attention seems to be cropping up faster than you can process them. The situation needs resolution, and you’re the one who has to get it done, and now!

It’s at those times that some people seem to flourish, and others just freeze. It’s impressive when you see a leader who seems to be able to handle the stress, the multiple sources of information and interruption, and still focus on the most important things. Strangely enough, even those tasks that aren’t as important still seem to get done in the middle of the crisis. So how do they do it?

The reality is, those leaders that seem to have special powers, really don’t do anything you can’t do as well. Their trick is an ability to focus.  So, how do they know  how to differentiate between important information, and background ‘noise.’ What qualifies as urgent and needing special attention, when everything seems to be that way?

One place to look for some ideas is in the cockpit of a jet airliner. Cocooned back in our comfortable, spacious seats (right!), we take for granted that the doors will be closed, we will climb into the air, and reach our destination safely. In fact, how hard could this be for the pilot as well? Don’t they have autopilot now? Surely all they do is program in a few coordinates, let the plane take off, and land itself, all while the pilot and co-pilot have some coffee and enjoy the view. Right?

Not exactly. Imagine the amount of information and feedback that’s being provided in the cockpit on a constant basis. There are alarms to listen to, gauges to watch, air space to keep an eye on, and inevitably, potential bad weather to keep an eye out for on the radar. If all of this wasn’t enough, there is a radio and a multitude of other planes and air traffic control talking to each of them on the same frequencies. How does a pilot keep an eye on all of the variables, and yet hear their planes tail number called out in the noise? How do you get a 250,000 pound piece of metal into the air safely? The trick is focus, and the lessons that pilots can teach us will make us all better leaders during stressful, high-stakes times in our work.

So, what do pilots know that we can learn from? There are 5 things that you can do as a leader in times of stress and high intensity that will help you be a better leader.

  1. Limit your distractions – This might seem obvious, but when a pilot is taking off and landing, the last thing they can afford to do is be interrupted. Now is not the time to be carrying on a text conversation with their significant other about the argument last night or the plans for the weekend. They have to limit anything that might interrupt their thought processes and attention.  The same goes for you. Turn off Outlook, put the ringer on your phone on silent, and stop the text alerts. By limiting your distractions, you can more easily get ‘in the zone’ and will make better, and faster decisions.
  2. Know your priorities before crisis hits – A pilot is meticulous and goes through a checklist each and every time they take to the air. The checklist is there so they don’t forget something critical, but also so they can “forget” about the small things and keep their minds on the key tasks. If their mind is full of minutiae, (what setting does the doohickey need to be turned to), they won’t be able to keep up with the key tasks that have to take place to take off safely (like what speed do they need to reach to take off). For you, make sure you focus on the big picture, and be able to look up the details you need when it’s important. Having a good set of checklists, processes and procedures in place before the crisis hits will allow you to focus on the important stuff.
  3. Limit what you focus on – Carey Lohrenz, a former Navy Lieutenant and F-14 Fighter Pilot says that 3 priorities is enough. In her words, “It cannot be 27 priorities. You will be an inch deep and a mile wide.” The same goes for you. When things are moving quickly, and the pressure is on, it’s time to focus your attention on 2-3 things, and do them really well. The other things can wait, or can be delegated when the time is right. Once those priorities are tackled, pick the next 3 until the crisis is over.
  4. Think before you act – The old adage of ‘measure twice, cut once’ is a valuable one, even if you aren’t a carpenter. When stressful times hit, our tendency is to try and move as quickly as possible, in hopes that quick action will limit the amount of time the stress continues. We want to resolve the problem quickly, and get back to ‘normal.’ But, that’s actually the worst thing you can do. It’s precisely at times of high stress that you need to slow down enough to make sure you check your work. Stress has the effect of causing your adrenal glands to release additional adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid hormone, and in elevated levels, serves your body by helping it to get additional energy, reducing inflammation and controlling blood pressure. However, it’s close cousin, adrenaline, also gives you a boost of energy that is shown to sometimes cause a person to make rash, and risky decisions. Rash decisions can quickly lead to mistakes, thus creating even more stress and work to be done. Take your time and make good decisions.
  5. Get your rest – I can’t stress this one enough. There’s a reason that pilots, truckers and even Physician Resident students have limits on the number of hours they are allowed to work. These rules are in place to ensure that they get the amount of rest they need to operate safely, during stressful times. Our bodies and minds simply function better when we’ve gotten the right amount of sleep, and we can make better, and faster decisions during times of stress. In an article published by the Duke School of Medicine, they describe a 2011 study that indicated that people with insufficient sleep were more likely to make risky decisions, and lean toward optimistic outcomes and disregard potential potential negative consequences. In other words, people who were tired tended to think that ‘everything will be ok’ and disregard the potential negative things that can happen. During times of high stress, you need to be able to see the whole picture, look for potential risks and make correct decisions. Limiting your sleep by pulling an ‘all nighter’ may make you feel like a hero, but will likely make you look like a zero!
...pulling an ‘all nighter’ may make you feel like a hero, but will likely make you look like a zero! Click To Tweet

While stress is not something you can avoid, the way you react to it when it does come could make the difference between success and failure. If you can prepare for periods of stress ahead of time, you are more likely to come through on the other side in a better place. When you’re feeling the pressure, if you can remember the tricks that pilots know, you can be one of those leaders that has it all together.

Do you have any techniques for dealing with high stress situations that would help others? Share them here.