Managing technology so it can work for you (part 2)

By Eric Benson
Boomer Consulting

Balancing all modes of communication can be a full time job. In fact, it IS a full time job. With phones, pagers, cell phones, PDAs, computers, laptops, face-to-face meetings, videoconferencing and Web conferencing, who has time to work?

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for those of you who like closed doors and quiet spaces), we have to produce. We also have to be accountable for the stream of information that hits our desks.

Let me pose a few questions to start.

How often do you normally check your e-mail?
When a piece of e-mail is highly anticipated, how often do you check then?
How about when you are between tasks, or are bored?
How soon do you think e-mail should be returned?
How often does e-mail affect your work schedule or break your concentration?

How did your answers fare? Do you believe you use e-mail responsibly and manage your time well at all times? If so, you might be able to stop reading now. For those of you who break your day down by the "Send / Receive" button, read on.

In my experience, a lot of time and effort goes into delivering strong policies on spam, virus filtering, properly archiving e-mail and providing quality standards for sending and responding to e-mail. How you manage your inbox is often not a big enough issue for company-wide policies and ubiquitous enough to escape most people's "I need to get organized" filters. Day-to-day e-mail checking can be productive, and hopefully I can help you see a way to improve.

Here are two suggestions to get you started.

Use the filtering system you already have

Most people succeed at managing their desks. In-bins, out-bins, to-dos — in those piles are things that can wait, items that have to be addressed today, and possibly lunch remnants from a busy morning.

What is usually not there is the drive to handle every piece of paper as it hits your desk. How many items do you deal with immediately and send back?

Say it with me: "But I wouldn't get anything done if I responded to every piece of paper on my desk." You've got it. Why should e-mail be different? Take the same system you use on your desk and apply it to your inbox folder structure. If you have a system that works, make it pervasive.

Spend time thinking about what's really important

At the beginning of your day, write down the most important items or people on your agenda. Respond to those e-mails quickly and let the rest sit for a predetermined time. Grouping e-mail this way lets you look hard-wired to your keyboard for the important items and gives you time to sit and concentrate every so many hours to respond to others.

Try to keep the number of important items to five or fewer. If you have more, either your day is really busy or you have difficulty crossing off items. Ask someone else to help or establish them the night before.

Inbox management can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. The important step is to add the word "management" to your inbox.

Let me hear from you about other solutions. E-mail me at eric.benson@boomer.com if you have successfully conquered your inbox. I hope to share some successful strategies in the future.

Eric Benson is director of interactive communications for Boomer Consulting.

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