Email
is supposed to make communication quicker and easier, so why does it
feel like it’s draining rather than saving your time? The inbox timewarp
sucks away valuable time that you could have used for planning, or
marking or even ... interacting with a real live pupil!
Make email work for you, not against you, with these simple tips:
check regularly
Letting
email build up will increase the stress level when you finally open
your inbox, and reduce your efficiency when reading and responding.
Keeping on top of it regularly means that you’ll be spending minutes,
not hours, dealing with your mail.
... but not constantly
Interrupting
your current task to respond to an email instantly reduces your
productivity for both. Turn off your notifications (especially if your
email is forwarded to your phone). Decide on set times when you will
check your email - morning, lunchtime and after school works for me
(spending no more than 5-10mins each time)
delete
You
get a lot of emails that are not for you. Don’t waste time reading
them. Scan the title (and if necessary the first few lines) and delete.
file or act immediately
If
the email requires a response that’s going to take less than 2 minutes,
do it straight away. If not, then file it straight away (this comes
from the GTD productivity system). I use 3 folders:
- pastoral
- department
- whole school
Emails
that are for information or reference go straight into the folders.
Anything which requires a response - a reply, a document to read later,
or a task to complete - is flagged (including a due date). If you’re using outlook, this will then appear in your task list for later action
act
Have
a time of day when you go to the task list (or flagged emails) and act
- read the document, reply to the email, update the class list etc. If
it’s something with a future deadline (e.g. completing reports), flag
it for follow up with the appropriate date.
search
Using
the search function to locate old information is much more efficient
than scrolling through a list looking for that email from Mr Jones about
AfL that you received a few weeks ago.
Using this method it’s easy to keep your inbox at zero which
takes the stress out of email. Some people prefer to use their inbox as
the equivalent of task list, not filing anything until they have acted.
Whatever you do, make email work for you, don’t let it dictate your
life!
