Has you email inbox become filled with clutter? The problem is that people are sending lots of work email that doesn’t belong there. For instance, some use email more like a bulletin board for company events.
Is it any wonder that the average worker has to spend a quarter of the day reading and answering more than 75 messages?
In this edition of our ongoing email productivity series, we talk about this problem and how you can get your team to remove the clutter from your inbox.
Ken Okel’s Productivity at Work video series is designed to make you more effective on the job. Every week, you’ll learn a new, easy to understand tip that you can use right away.
What Productivity Questions Does This Video Answer?
- What email should not be sent?
- How can I remove clutter from my inbox?
- How can I send less email?
- How can I send better email messages?
Video Transcript
Every miss an important email because your inbox was cluttered with things that weren’t really all that important? Email is a wonderful way to communicate but sometimes we’re using it the wrong way.
Do people in your organization think of the email almost like a bulletin board, where you’re putting out a lot of messages that relate to things that are happening within your organization.
Perhaps, a monthly celebration of birthdays. Some organizations celebrate everyone’s birthday on a certain date, like the last Friday of the month. There’s cake, there’s ice cream, and some good times. It’s fun.
Problem is there’s a lot of reminders that go out about this event, telling people the day before, the morning before, a few hours before, a few minutes before. People emails become full of these messages.
Now, sometimes, perhaps, it can be useful to use email as a bulletin board. But on other occasions, would it be more effective to just put up a sign, where people pass by?
Put a sign up in the break room, by the entrances. I think people will pick up that ice cream and cake for birthdays is available on Friday. Rather than cluttering up inboxes with lots of messages that people have to stop, open, read, delete. Especially when they’re having to do it multiple times in the day. Make email communication as effective as possible. That will take the cake.
About Ken Okel
Ken Okel works with leaders and organizations to boost productivity, performance, and profits. At conferences, conventions, and company meetings, he engages audiences with new ways to maximize their time at work. To see a sample of his keynote and workshop presentations, go to the Ken Okel Video Page.
