Transcript IFWE 2014 Taming the Email Tiger

Taming the Tiger:
Strategies for
Effective Use of
Email
Elaine Shuck
[email protected]
Janine Lim
[email protected]
Elaine Shuck
Director of Education, North America
Polycom
President-Elect, USDLA
[email protected]
Janine Lim
Associate Dean, Online Higher Education
Andrews University
[email protected]
Twitter: outonalim
blog.janinelim.com
YOUR TURN: What are some things
that frustrate you about email?
http://qwertytutorials.com/misc/site_graphics/email_fired.jpg
Email Folders
Archive
Action
Waiting
Follow Up
Archive
Hold
Filed
Urgent
Research More
Waiting
http://lifehacker.com/182318/empty-your-inbox-with-the-trusted-trio
http://billzipponbusiness.com/5-folders-the-simple-system-for-getting-your-email-inbox-to-zero/
Email Filters
• Newsletters: “unsubscribe, opt-out”
• “CC”: you aren’t in the To: field
• Shopping: “receipt, statement, bill,
order, purchase, shipping”
• Social Media: “Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, YouTube”
• Execs: your boss or executive team
• Google “email filter [your email
program here]” for instructions
http://www.postbox-inc.com/?/blog/entry/email_filtering_strategies/
Listservs
• Unsubscribe folder & email
rule
• Sort by subject line for fast
reading
• Delete, delete, delete
• Clip interesting articles for
later (i.e. Evernote, Pocket,
Instapaper, Readability,
Clipboard, Diigo)
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/9-tools-to-save-what-you-read-on-the-web-for-later/
YOUR TURN: Turn to your neighbor.
Which of these tips so far do you use
already? Which tips do you want to try?
The less emails you
send, the less emails
you’ll receive!
Chunks of Time vs. All the Time
• Windows of uninterrupted time to
systematically work from the
bottom up, or in alphabetical
subject order. Discipline yourself
to process each one.
• Morning: Spend 1-2 hours
accomplishing something
BEFORE you check your email.
Web here
Don’t Use Email
• French company bans internal email.
• Resist email discussions. Schedule a
meeting instead.
• Resist IM-like emails. Use an IM tool with
your team (i.e. Skype, Gajim, Microsoft
Lync).
• Turn off your email notifications!!!
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-16055310
http://danieldlaine.com/danieldlaine/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Email-joke.jpg
Inbox Zero
• Ruthlessly file. Get it out of your inbox if
it’s done.
• Zap emails during downtime, waiting,
standing in line.
• Actually unsubscribe from listservs
(unroll.me)
• Delete emails without opening if you don’t
know the sender.
• Email templates for auto responses or fast
responses
http://mashable.com/2013/10/10/inbox-zero/
http://www.43folders.com/2006/03/13/email-cheats
http://www.43folders.com/izero
• Capture everything.
• Clarify the things you have to
do.
• Organize by actionable items
by category and priority.
• Reflect on your todo list.
• Engage on next actions.
http://lifehacker.com/productivity-101-a-primer-to-the-getting-things-done-1551880955
Personal Kanban
1. Visualize your work
2. Limit your work-inprogress
Zen to Done
• Modification of GTD
• Simplicity
• Focus on doing instead
of planning
http://www.personalkanban.com/pk/personal-kanban-101/
http://zenhabits.net/zen-to-done-ztd-the-ultimate-simple-productivity-system/
http://www.quora.com/Personal-Productivity/What-alternatives-are-there-to-Getting-Things-Done-GTD-by-David-Allen
http://www.conjurebunny.com/PowerUp/PowerUp.html
YOUR TURN: Turn to your neighbor.
What “evil” email behaviors do you
notice? What ideas do you want to try?
Email Integrations
Web here
http://www.evernote.com
CloudMagic for iOS and Android
Salesforce
Zendesk
Pocket
Evernote
Onenote
Todoist
Trello
Asana
Mailchimp
https://cloudmagic.com/
Mailbox for iOS and Android
• Conversations
• Put off emails
for later
• Auto-swipe
learns your
common
actions
http://www.mailboxapp.com/
Mailstrom
• It’s a service not an app or application
• “Bundles” related emails so you can
eliminate thousands of emails from your
inbox at once
https://mailstrom.co/
Taper
• Only five emails in your inbox
at once
• Service not app/application
• The rest are in TaperQueue
http://tapermail.com/
YOUR TURN: Turn to your neighbor and
share: Do you use any of these apps or
integrations? What do you want to try?
YOUR TURN: What other email questions
do you have? Any other tips to share?
Taming the Tiger:
Strategies for
Effective Use of
Email
Elaine Shuck
[email protected]
Janine Lim
[email protected]