According to a survey conducted a few years ago, the average white collar worker spends six weeks per year looking for information they already have.
‘I think I kept this document in my inbox.’
Scroll, scroll, scroll….
‘I must have filed into one of my sub sub sub folders.’
Scroll some more…
‘I am pretty sure I have a printed copy somewhere. I will look for it and let you know when (if) I find it.’
6 weeks per year…
Bonjour, in this video, I want to share with you one simple advice that can save you a lot of time and frustration.
As someone who works with many leaders around the world, I have found that the first step towards improving one’s ways of working is to declutter their space. In the past, this meant helping people tidy their physical desks, but with the advent of technology, the clutter has now moved to our digital spaces, particularly in our email folders. Many people have so many folders and subfolders that they end up being confused about where to file their documents, leading to wasted time and energy.
But the good news is, you don’t need to be a librarian to keep your digital space organized. Just master the search function of your email client.
For instance, if you’re using Outlook, take some time to learn how to search effectively. With a little bit of practice, you can find what you’re looking for in a matter of seconds. This means you don’t need to create countless folders to organize your emails any more.
Instead, you can have just three folders: “Delete,” “Halfway to the bin,” and “Archive.”
The first folder is where you put in emails that you don’t need anymore, the second is for emails that you want to keep for a few days, and the last one is for everything else.
By doing this, you can speed up the process of filing emails and retrieving them later, thereby saving yourself a lot of time and energy.
So, my question to you is, do you know how to search effectively?
If you don’t, is this worth spending a few minutes learning how to?
And if you do, do you really need all those folders?
Remember, by mastering the search function, you can keep your digital space organized, avoid frustration, and get more done in less time.
I hope you found this tip helpful and have a lovely day.
A bientôt,
Cyril
