We are not dealing with personal time management with this series of insights, except when it helps immensely to make a better manager of you and me.\u00a0 All of us have time management tips and tricks to help us get through the day.\u00a0 I have a mantra I try to live by, and it has helped me more than you know over the years.\u00a0 \u201cNever handle a paper twice\u201d may be extended to include reading and acting upon emails, messages, and any written distraction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is human nature to filter through the stack or inbox, looking for the important items. And that certainly has defensible merits.\u00a0 But to find what is important, we usually have to at least scan a document or email, engaged for no less than a short moment and perhaps for the full reading of the document before moving on to look for important issues to resolve.<\/p>\n
But there is good research to back up the statement that returning to a reading from a distraction causes the reader to lose up to 20% of his or her time in getting back to speed in mentally processing the document and its issues.\u00a0 By trying my best to adhere to the \u201cnever twice\u201d rule, I quickly delete most copy-all emails not addressed to me, and all junk, but handle each personally addressed email as it opens in the reading pane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Email readers continue here…]<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 The exception is an email with an attachment that appears long and involved, such as an executive summary of a business plan.\u00a0 Those get shuffled into a separate inbox for later review, without exception.\u00a0 Using this policy, I get through my several hundred non-spam emails each day faster than I used to, and with more focus upon those with response required than if reading and returning to the issue at a later time, especially if not in the same sitting.\u00a0 Exempt emails from your superior and those marked as urgent, both of which should be either directed to a special handling inbox or culled out from the rest immediately.<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t you like to regain some percentage of your time with little or no effort?\u00a0 Try this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are not dealing with personal time management with this series of insights, except when it helps immensely to make a better manager of you and me.\u00a0 All of us have time management tips and tricks to help us get … Continue reading