Steve & Gina in the Morning

Steve & Gina in the Morning

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Inbox so full it makes you avoid opening it? Try the "Touch" Method

email marketing concept, e-mail icons

Photo: Getty Images

Is your inbox so full it makes you avoid opening it altogether? Having to face all those emails that are begging for your attention can be stressful, so much so that we just don’t want to deal with it. But to stay on top of work, school and personal correspondence, we need the emails and that’s where the “touch” rules of inbox management can help.

  • The “one-touch rule” - It’s similar to the “two-minute” rule of productivity, which is that a task that takes less than two minutes to complete should be done right away. With the one-touch rule, the goal is to touch it once instead of coming back to it repeatedly, trying to decide if and when you’ll respond or deal with it. So with the one-touch rule, you open the email as soon as it comes in, take the information, respond if necessary, then delete or archive it to get it out of your inbox.
  • The two-touch rule - This one’s helpful if you have a lot of emails that need a response. On the first touch of the email, you decide if it requires an immediate response, or if it can or should be responded to later in the week. Use your email’s flagging or snoozing functions to categorize it, so you can access it easily when you’re ready to respond. The key is that first touch of opening the message right away, so messages don’t pile up and overwhelm you. Scheduling a specific time to respond to non-urgent messages will help your productivity, since you know it’ll get done and it won’t weigh on you.

Source: Lifehacker

Photo: Getty Images


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