Bonjour. Cyril from Work Smarter, Live Better. In this video, I want to share a simple trick that can help you manage the large volume of information you are receiving in our inbox.
I am in London working with the legal team of a large global company. We have just had a discussion on inbox management. Everyone complained that they were constantly being inundated with emails. One topic we discussed is the large volume of emails to read. One of their questions: ‘how do I manage these emails?”.
My suggestion is very simple. Make a difference between the must-read and the nice-to-read. If you look at something that you need to read, ask yourself, is it a must or is it a nice-to?
The must-read, if it’s less than five minutes, read it now. If it’s more than five minutes, schedule it in your diary. If it’s a must-read, either you do it now, or you schedule it now.
If it’s a nice-to-read, I have the one-minute rule. What is the one-minute rule? Less than one minute, do it now. More than one minute, you create a folder that you call “Nice to Read” folder. Not “To Read” but “Nice to Read” folder. The next time you are in a taxi, on a bus or in a train, or the next time you have a little break and you want to read them, go and sort yourself out. Read you nice-to-read.
Realistically, it will never happen. You will never have the time to do it, but it’s a feel-good folder. You’ll feel good because you’ve put it somewhere hoping you’ll find the time to do it, which will never happen, and who cares? It’s just a nice-to-read.
This is the Work Smarter, Live Better tip for this week. Hope you enjoy it. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day in London.
See you soon
Cyril
