Email Efficiency

By Benecia Beyer

I recently read some disturbing calculations (it was approved "company time reading" because it was about calculations!) about the time that email takes out of your day.

Let's say that out of the amount of emails that pass through your inbox each day - 30 are "actionable" items -- ones that you need to respond to, act on, read or in some way -- just takes up some of your time.

And let's also continue making assumptions and say that each one -- on the average -- takes 4 minutes of your time. This is a very low average -- some people likely need 5,10 or 15 minutes for each "actionable" item.

Those 30 emails have just sucked up 2 hours of your day ! Imagine what it would be like if each email took 10 minutes of your time, or instead of 30 "actionable" emails you received 60. (BTW -- that calculates to 5 hours and 4 hours - sucked up -- respectively).

And....if that is not disturbing enough -- I also learned how emails hurt our IQ more than smoking pot !

Constant interruptions reduce productivity and leave people feeling tired and lethargic, according to a survey carried out by TNS research and commissioned by Hewlett Packard. The survery showed:

• Almost two out of three people check their email while they are out of the office and are on vacation
• Half of all workers respond to an email within 60 minutes of receiving one
• One in five will break off from a business or social engagement to respond to a message
• Nine out of ten people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude, while three out of ten believed it was not only acceptable, but a sign of diligence and efficiency.

The mental impact of trying to balance a steady inflow of messages while getting on with your normal work -- takes it toll. In 80 clinical trials - the IQ of workers were monitored throughout the day. It was found that the IQ of those who tried to juggle email and work -- fell by 10 points -- which is the equivalent to missing a whole night of sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana. The study found that this obsession with looking at email will damage a worker's performance by reducing their mental sharpness.

So with all that being said and done -- here's a tip I'd like to share with you to increase your email productivity: color coding your emails.

1. Click on Tools in the main menu
2. Select Organize
3. The Organization Menu will appear in a box above your email messages
4. Click on the Using Colors tab
5. To choose a special color for someone in your address book: the quickest way to do this is to select an email that is in your inbox
6. You will see that the name next to "color messages from" becomes the name of the email address you selected
7. Then just change the color in the drop down box on the right hand side
8. Press Apply Color

Do the same steps for each email address you want to highlight with color.

Hope this helps !

Comments

[Toby]

Now I understand why I often feel so stressed - just from answering "a few emails." I usually have email running in the background but when I work on projects I am now closing it .. too distracting.

Thanks for the color tips.