email is broken! 5 time saving tips for people who get too many emails!

I currently have 163 unread emails (*oops 166 between the time that I wrote this and when I took the screenshot) in my inbox (I have about 1000 unread emails in other folders - most of them are sent to those folders using automatic rules.

For example, if I am cc'd on an email with more than 5 others it must be less important than an email sent directly to me. Or, if an email comes from a person who normally forwards jokes, it goes into a folder automatically... You get the idea).

I don't know about you, but I find that email is broken! I get at least 300 emails a day in my 4 primary email accounts. Most emails are a waste of time. People email things to 'pass the buck', or delay having to deal with it themselves (the 'what is your view?' emails). Others are just information about meetings I have already sat through or prepared for.

I tend to get more critical and necessary contacts via twitter, SMS and to a lesser extent Facebook, and of course through phone calls. Perhaps it is because those persons make the effort to contact me, not just pop words into my inbox.

Of course I have my wife, boss and secretary on a priority list that keeps their emails in my inbox and highlights them for me to be able to scan the header quickly and see if I need to respond.

Most of my emails are read and answered on my iPhone, blackberry or iPad in the 'stolen moments' between meetings, before 6am, or after 10pm at night...

I found this post by Kevin Rose very helpful!

http://kevinrose.com/blogg/2010/8/17/email-sucks-5-time-saving-tips.html

How do you deal with the barrage of emails each day?

Do you need a better way to manage your time? Here's one way to cut those meetings short!

If, like me, you have 10 things on the go at any one time, then you may feel that there are times when you would love to be able to manage your time more effectively! Well, here's a sure fire way to keep those LONG meetings as SHORT as possible! Simply print a few of these tokens and have your assistant, secretary (or significant others) hand it to people as they arrive!

Seriously though, if you're in search of good productivity and lifestyle management advice, then I would suggest you take a look at one of my favourite websites www.43folders.com. I have been visiting this site for years and found some incredibly helpful information there...

Here are a few of my favourites (they are also in the top 9 at 43folders):

1. First steps to 'getting things done'. This is GREAT for the procrastinators among you!

2. How to improve the quality and delivery of your presentations, so that you're not just USING powerpoint, but rather getting your POINT across with POWER!

3. How to write sensible e-mail messages (that people will actually read and respond to! Not just scan and turf).

4. And, for those who know me (I always have two or three lists going, sometimes I have lists that tell me what lists to consult in what order....). Here's how to build smarter to do lists.

Technorati tags: 43folders, time management, meetings, getting things done, procrastination