Issue 4

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Taming the Email Tiger
by Angela Yee

Email is a way of life in the twenty-first century. It’s an efficient way to communicate. What I love about email is being able to send a message any time of the day and not feel like I'm going to wake someone up or interrupt them in what they are doing. Since I'm forgetful, it’s great to email something as soon as I think of it and not be afraid of forgetting about it later.

The down side of email is that unless we are disciplined, it can easily overtake our lives. Unfortunately, spam is a common nuisance and it takes time to deal with it. Also, it’s all too easy to check your email as soon as a message comes in — leading to a gap in concentration and eventually reduced productivity.

Here are some tips to help you master your email deluge.

• Turn it off. If you need to concentrate and focus, turn off your email program. This way, you won’t be tempted when you’re on a project to check your email.
• Don’t check as frequently. Schedule longer times between when your program checks for email. Instead of checking every ten minutes, set it for half an hour or an hour. Some people even check only twice a day.
• Don’t answer it as soon as you get it. Set aside a certain time to deal with your email all at once instead of jumping to it every time you get a message.
• Get yourself off of distribution lists. Discussion groups or mailing lists will clog up your inbox. Do yourself a favor and withdraw from these “opportunities.”
• Color code your messages. I color code my contacts according to category. When I receive an email with a certain color, I look through these emails first because I know they are higher in priority.
• Automate your email. You can set up your email program to automatically put your messages in certain folders. Then you can check these folders later. This avoids cluttering up your inbox and allows you to control the time that you will check the messages.
• Have a different email account that you protect carefully. Use a separate email account for family and friends. Be selective about who gets this email address. When you purchase things online, don’t use this email account but use another one. This will help you avoid spam and business newsletters.

For those of you who make your livelihood through email or through keeping in constant communication with people, not all of these suggestions will work for you. But it won’t hurt to take a look to see if any of these ideas can help you reduce the email load. After all, email is a tool, not a master.

Do you have a tip for handling email? We want to hear from you! Contact us!

©2006 Angela Yee

Cool Tools

Modular cube storage cabinet

Here's an unusual-looking storage cabinet. Although it's probably not the most space-efficient storage system, it definitely is unique and eye-catching!

Available from Grandin Road.

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