Escape the Darkened Depths of Email Hell…

E-mail used to be fun and exciting and was supposed to make our lives easier and our workday more efficient.

Unfortunately this is rarely the case. Today the inbox has turned into a wrathful place and many of us are full fledged inboxoholics, even though we know it's bad for our workday and productivity…just like your drunk uncle knows the Jim Beam and prostitutes are bad for his marriage, he keeps giving into the temptations of the night…

I honestly feel my blood pressure rise and heart rate speed up every time I open my inbox, part anticipation and part dread to find out who screwed up what and how this might waste some extra time of my workday…time I should be spending on truly important tasks instead of putting out some fire.

I came back after a holiday one time and had FIVE HOURS of emails. That's when I decided that my current email system sucked and it was time for an overhaul.

Here are eight email strategies to escape to depths and email hell and attain liberation from your inbox…                              

1.  Have a set time each workday to respond to e-mails.  Set aside 20 to 30 minutes each day to go through your inbox.  If you need more time than that, outsource it.  Whatever doesn't get done in that 20 to 30 minute period, put off until the next day.                                   

2.  When you open your inbox, scan your e-mail quickly.  Immediately delete any junk.  Scan for the highest priority e-mails, and answer those first, and then answer the rest in order from top to bottom and delete or archive as needed.                                   

3.  Keep answers between one and five sentences.  If a longer answer is needed use the phone or dictate your e-mail using a service like Copytalk, which you can call on your cell phone and will send you a dictation of what you said.  Then just paste it into the e-mail and send it off the next day.                                   

4.  Anyone who sends you stupid e-mail forwards let them know you're not into it.  This a complete and utter waste of time and is usually an offense of the 9-5er's who have plenty of time to waste looking busy everyday. They need to understand that as a business owner time is extremely important and we need to effectively use every minute of it as possible, we just don't have the luxury of sending off emails on someone else's dollar of dogs making funny faces.                            

5.  Delete as much as you can.  Sure you'll need to save a few important e-mails, but do not be scared to use the delete button.                                  

6.  Don't let anything distract you when you're doing your e-mails.  Just jump in, and use that time to clean out your inbox, send out any important e-mails that you have, and get the hell out of Dodge.                                   

7.  If e-mails take more than 20 to 30 minutes, three to five days a week strongly consider outsourcing the majority of it.                                   

8.  Never do e-mails first thing in the morning, as this immediately puts you into a reactive state, and you will most likely end up in a bad mood.  Use that time to work on the things that need
to be done to move your business forward.     

 E-mail is here to make our lives easier, and more efficient.  Don't' let your inbox rule your day and don't waste your time burning on the lakes of inbox hellfire.  

This has been a fitness business time management post by Chris McCombs for Kick Back Life, a marketing strategies for a personal training business website and blog with cutting-edge high quality content added on a regular basis so you can make more money while working less hours in your own business… it's all about freedom baby! Freedom to do what you want… when you want… where you want…