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Spot the 2-minute emails and
deal with them right away
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If something takes you less than two
minutes, you should do it immedi ately. Any more, and it goes on your to-do
list. Here are some of the most common two-minute emails that you can spot from
their subject line.
When we survey our inbox, most of us
would like to have some kind of estimation on how much time it's going to take
to go through all the messages. Create a list that contains the types of emails
we receive, and what we can expect in terms of the time they'll take to deal
with. If it takes less than two minutes, you should deal with it right away.
Our purpose is to try and explore various
assumptions and rules of thumb about our behavior when we process emails. The
more you can automate processes, the less mental resources you need to apply.
You can also help eliminate the constant inner debate: should I do it now or
later? The result will leave enough unscathed mind power for the tasks that
really matter.
Personal Emails Personal emails that land in your work inbox are probably not part of immediate tasks. They take you more than two minutes because they take you out of your “work“ zone. Going in and out of focus will often take more than two minutes. Treat them just like an interruption and manage them accordingly.
FYI/Memo Emails “FYI emails“ generally are less than twominute emails because most of the time they don't require any action from your part. You can decide what to do with them and process them into your reference folder.
Emails That Open Debates It's quite tricky to identify these emails before you open them. There's no one rule that can tell you if this is a conversation or debate email or not. However, go ing by previous interactions with the person who sent it, you can gauge what the email is going to be about.
Promotional Emails This type of email splits into two categories: those that you're interested in and those you're not. These will definitely take you more than two minutes since they can take you out of your workflow. Those you're not interested in, of course, should be removed from your inbox.
Invitation Emails These are an action email. They require you to take a single action: accept or decline.
Since the associated action is pretty straight forward, these will likely take you less than two minutes. There may be however followup actions.
Social Media Emails These are notifications from social networks you subscribe to, like Facebook or Twitter.
As a rule, you should remove all notifications from your email. This can end up taking more than two minutes since they take you out of the workflow. “Waiting for“ Emails These are reminders sent to you from someone who's waiting for an action you need to perform. These take less than two minutes because they often require a quick status update.
Returning Emails This is either a message that confirms some thing you've written, or is trying to clarify something you've asked or said. This could go either way in terms of the time it takes, since it's usually 50/50 whether you need to continue this email chain to discuss or debate a certain point. Flag these as more than or less than two minutes based on the sender, the issue, and past experience.
Personal Emails Personal emails that land in your work inbox are probably not part of immediate tasks. They take you more than two minutes because they take you out of your “work“ zone. Going in and out of focus will often take more than two minutes. Treat them just like an interruption and manage them accordingly.
FYI/Memo Emails “FYI emails“ generally are less than twominute emails because most of the time they don't require any action from your part. You can decide what to do with them and process them into your reference folder.
Emails That Open Debates It's quite tricky to identify these emails before you open them. There's no one rule that can tell you if this is a conversation or debate email or not. However, go ing by previous interactions with the person who sent it, you can gauge what the email is going to be about.
Promotional Emails This type of email splits into two categories: those that you're interested in and those you're not. These will definitely take you more than two minutes since they can take you out of your workflow. Those you're not interested in, of course, should be removed from your inbox.
Invitation Emails These are an action email. They require you to take a single action: accept or decline.
Since the associated action is pretty straight forward, these will likely take you less than two minutes. There may be however followup actions.
Social Media Emails These are notifications from social networks you subscribe to, like Facebook or Twitter.
As a rule, you should remove all notifications from your email. This can end up taking more than two minutes since they take you out of the workflow. “Waiting for“ Emails These are reminders sent to you from someone who's waiting for an action you need to perform. These take less than two minutes because they often require a quick status update.
Returning Emails This is either a message that confirms some thing you've written, or is trying to clarify something you've asked or said. This could go either way in terms of the time it takes, since it's usually 50/50 whether you need to continue this email chain to discuss or debate a certain point. Flag these as more than or less than two minutes based on the sender, the issue, and past experience.
-Lifehacker.co.in ET
140515
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