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The Zen Master's Guide to Email Productivity | Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software
Suggested Email Structure
- Greeting
- Pleasantry
- How you got their details, call back and reason for email
- Body Topic: Situation, Benefit, Call to Action
- Closing line
- Signature
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Adopt GTD Methodology in Email
think of every email you get as either something you need to take action on, track, or refer to later.
Every time you open a conversation, decide right away what to do with it. D...
Create an Email Productivity System
There’s no “definitive” system. The best framework is the one that works for you. Ideally, it should model your work style, supporting the way you work. Bonus points if it’s low-maintenance, fast to set up, and adaptable as your work changes.
Some people like to use folders with specific actions (do, delegate, reply), while others prefer the deadline-driven approach (today, tomorrow, next week).
Power Up Your Email with Plugins
Some examples:
- Undo Send: for when you accidentally press the send button.
- Canned Responses: create a template that you can reuse with canned responses.
- Send and Archive: Automatically archive an email after replying to it using the send and archive button.
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Key Ideas
Checking Email
- you may decide that you'll only check your email before lunch, and at the end of the day.
- you can also reserve time to re...
Checking your email regularly...
... during the day can be an effective way to keep your inbox at manageable levels.
However, the constant interruption and distraction that comes from it can dramatically lower your productivity, and disrupt your ability to enter a state of flow when working on high value projects.
Reading Email
- Try using the "Two-Minute Rule" when you read your mail: if the email will take less than two minutes to read and reply to, then take care of it right now, even if it's not a high priority.
- For emails that will take longer than two minutes to read or respond to, schedule time on your calendar, or add this as an action on your To-Do List , to do later.
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Key Ideas
The psychology behind email
- Realize that email triggers intermittent variable rewards. Our brains love pulling a lever (i.e. refreshing email) and knowing that the reward (i.e. the number of messages) will vary
When you do hit send, be precise
E-mail is not a substitute for conversations.
Avoid asking open-ended questions and save yourself from the “boomerang effect” (that’s when you invite more email into your inbox than you intended, as a result of having sent out an email in the first place). Be concise in your message and specify the TL;DR and/or requested action upfront.
Find the right downstream systems
The blockage is not email itself, but where all these messages should ultimately go, which requires setting up the right downstream systems.
As you process each message, give yourself five (and only five) options: responding directly or sending the item into whatever system you’re using to manage one of these four buckets.