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Getting a bit swamped at work these days - any folks care to share their best practice for email and task management?
Do you still file emails or just put them in one big bucket and rely on search?
Have limited success using other apps such as Evernote and Onenote for management of tasks and reference material but nothing sticks...
don't go on stw in working hours.
I wondered how many seconds it would take for someone to say that 🙂
Tumblr on chrome
If it's stressing that's destroying your productivity, may I recommend the delights of St John's Wort, sir?
Works for me. I've got loads done today thanks to the good saint... but he's starting to fade away and here I am on STW. 😀
The only disadvantage I can see is I seem to have a little fella in my head singing doo-de-doo-de-doo on repeat...
camo16 - yes I guess that is part of the problem - have tried that in past and it has helped come to think of (as well as keeping coffee intake in check!)
I'm quite often swamped by too many jobs at the same time. It's a rubbish feeling not being able to get anywhere... SJW is my new favourite friend. Watch out for the little singing man though! 😉
I find the old fashioned approach of pencil & paper work quite well.
Write down what you want/need to achieve then work through the list planning a sequence that will reduce duplication of work and so jobs feed into one another.
Traditional but works for me.
Having a mighty moustache must also help, surely, Pinkster? 😉
I find the old fashioned approach of pencil & paper work quite well.
+1
Write down everything you need to do.
If you get something else to do, stick it on the end of the list. Then if you need to re-order you can see everything. If someone asks you to do something asap, show them the list and why they need to wait!
Indeed it does. Not having something to twiddle while thinking is not something I'd care to consider 😉camo16 - Member
Having a mighty moustache must also help, surely, Pinkster?
Hmmmm.... Wunderlist..... that looks interesting - spend ages writing lists and rewriting to re-order them. STW - font of all knowledge!
[url= http://www.teamworkpm.net/refer/cscls ]TeamworkPM[/url] is by far the best PM tool I've used. Great customer service too with most queries addressed within minutes.
[url=www.todoist.com]Todoist[/url] is cross-platform friendly and integrates with Outlook and Gmail. Excellent for general email/task management without getting too deep.
All IMHO having trialled IRO 50 bits of task/PM software over the last few years.
write a 'to do' list for tomorrow before you leave everyday.
Accept that some things are just not going to get done...
Whatever you do, please avoid one particularly well known PM app as the founder decided 2 years ago to post a YT vid on why he spent $80k on a Cayenne! Complete ar53. And his company are renowned for being unresponsive to client feedback.
I use Trello to keep track of bike builds and the like - https://trello.com/
It has a website and apps to sync everything.
I'm in the very same situation - loads to do, all varying stuff, and no drive to really do any of it.
I'm 3 days behind with my inspection notes, haven't vetted a plan for some time, targets way gone, 20 odd emails not replied to.....
Could do with a day (or 3) in the office but never seem to get the chance, 2 colleagues retired in last 12 months, 2 left for greener grass, 1 on sick, and workload is 50% up across the board, usually got 2/3 of us doing what 5/6 used to do.
In the modern office your own productivity is seriously affected by constant interruptions from other people, either visiting you in person, or contacting you by email, phone, or instant messenger.
To increase your productivity, make yourself unavailable for some of the day - switch the phone / email / IM off for starters, or at least take make a point of taking longer to respond. The les available you are the less people will pester you, and the more you get done.
p.s. not fractions
wow lots of sound advice! Must admit the volume of information plus ambiguity over whether to flag a mail, turn it into an (outlook) task or create the action elsewhere is driving me nuts!
Some say - keep mails and tasks clearly separate...
20 odd emails not replied to.....
My inbox has 616 unread emails out of a total of 1320 - want to swap?
E-mails - one big archive folder, one small to do folder and an empty inbox
I use categories and smart search folders to navigate the archive (s - I have 5 e-mail addresses to deal with) and use filters to categorise stuff automatically as it comes in, leaving a minimum of stuff to deal with by hand, and a good idea of what stuff I can safely ignore.
Camo...If the op isn't depressed and only shows symptoms of mild anxiety I wouldn't recommend long term use of what is effectively an antidepressant that has quite significant effects on brain chemistry. Just because its yet to be a prescribed drug doesn't mean you should be taking the damn things like sweets.
A bit of cbt and propranolol would be better for mild anxiety.
Some quick tips:
1) Read and process your emails in batches, e.g when you first start work in the morning ... then 11am ... then 1pm ... and so on. This way you prevent yourself from being knocked out of your flow every time an email arrives.
2) If you can action an email in <2 mins then do it. Do it now. Then file it away. Done.
3) Create a folder called SOMETIME and dump in there any emails that don't need actioning for X weeks.
4) Aim for Zero Inbox.
20 odd emails not replied to.....
My inbox has 616 unread emails out of a total of 1320 - want to swap?
That's a lot for me, depends how you prioritise them, what you do and how important those emails are to the sender I guess? I usually try to deal with all emails on a daily basis, or at least flag the important stuff.
A lot of my customers/clients are dependent on me to progress with projects, build, and sell houses, so there's a fair bit of pressure to sort them out.......
Read and process your emails in batches, e.g when you first start work in the morning ... then 11am ... then 1pm ... and so on. This way you prevent yourself from being knocked out of your flow every time an email arrives.
+1, but let colleagues know you do this
And turn the phone off for an hour every now and again.
Delete button is really handy.
Finish every day knowing what you're going to focus on next morning.
I use an adapted version of "take back your life" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-Back-Using-Outlook-Organized/dp/0735620407
In terms of tools I use outlook and Evernote.
Captain Slow - just scanned that book on amazon - looks promising!
A friend gave me a copy of this.
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I haven't got round to reading it yet,been too busy 🙂
It is if you apply it in a way that works for you. I use a TBYL "lite" approach.
Aside from being organised, it also covers being efficient. Eg don't be one of these folk that takes minutes on paper then types them up. Use Evernote or outlook then edit and distribute as required etc
Evernote is great in that aspect as it is cloud based, works with tags etc for searching and integrates with outlook. Or just use outlook - whatever works for you
I think it's important to delete on sight emails from certain sections of your workplace. This would be anything administrative for me, but YMMV. The idea that you must respond to all-comers is quite corrosive.
I guess if you are IT savvy you could set up a script to bounce any HR or admin email with a phrase like 'the eagle does not catch flies'.
I've never been productive or achieved anything. A complete lack of ambition leads to very little money but very little stress.
Read that book very useful you'll end up with lots of lists! Plus agree with setting yourself certain times when you answer email. I respond 3 times a day for 30mins. First thing with my morning coffee. Over lunch with my food then just before I head out the door. Unless I've got everything done ( very rare) outlook is not even open for the rest of the time. Phone is ignored whilst I focus on emails, unless its a director. Colleagues know if something critical happens to come and find me...
I get hundreds of mails per day probably less than 5% actually need me to take any action, let alone respond immediately. How about keeping a tally of emails you receive and how many need action from you (be honest) and how many could not have waited an hour or two if you are working on a batch responding approach
Other good tip is if it is taking more than 5 mins to respond to a email, then email is probably the wrong format and you should be picking up a phone or a quick catchup.
How productive is everyone today!
Watching Jeremy Kyle 😆
Just about to go back to bed.
8/10
The day is young. 😀
Work from home.
Much easier to focus on stuff without people hassling you every 30 secs/office gossip/trivia etc.
There's a definite reward for being efficent, in that once everything is done, you can slope off for a bike ride!
write stuff down
doesn't matter much how you do it, as long as its reasonably organised.
when you've written it down, your brain doesn't need to remember it = less stress
maintain a good 'to-do' list
have some quiet 'offline' periods during the day when you just do stuff and sod the interruptions
Something that surprised me how much a difference it made was turning new mail notifications off. That way you can still have your calendar open so you don't miss appointments etc, but don't get the distraction of potentially a new task every 'ping'!
Then, you can deal with them periodically throughout the day without having your train of thought stolen by some tedious middle manager
emails: Ctrl-A then Delete works quite well
Go back to work at 9pm and get another 4-6 hours in uninterrupted to clear the backlog.
Works for me.
Emails from you direct boss and clients are the ones to worry about. Forget the rest unless you have spare time.
Prioritise your tasks based on urgency AND importance. Then work out any dependencies between tasks. Long chains of dependent tasks should be started as soon as possible.
Many smaller independent tasks can be done by others who have a little free time. So try to get them reassigned so you can focus on the big stuff.
Roughly a third of tasks you are asked to do don't need doing so just work out which third and only start on them if the rest get done.
Manage expectations by telling bosses and clients when tasks will be done with realistic deadlines, not optimistic ones. If they moan then negotiate other priorities down the list. If tasks look like they will run late, warn them in advance, don't wait until the deadline is about to pass.
Use a simple task and resource planning software tool (i use ms project in a basic way) to make a schedule, and spend 5 mins every morning updating it to check where you are and if there will be a problem hitting deadlines.
Once you start to feel in control of your time you will be much less stressed!
bizz.. agree on the urgent & important method (Coveys quadrants). It does help prioritise (although too many things go into Q1 - Urgent & Important)!
get another job that requires you to do less.
Learn to say 'No'. Works for me.
Waking up this thread again...still no increase in productivity from my side!
Someone said to me today.
"this <action> is a priority for me"
Reply
"ok, it's not for me, sorry"
And carried on with what I was already doing.
+1 My boss, his boss and clients - everything else can swing, except my timesheet and my expenses.
If I can echo what people said about email batches.
In my last job with 50-150 emails a day I'd check at 10am (no earlier on this one .. let people get into work at 9am and fire something your way if they need to) and 2.30-3pm. Might spend 30-45mins on it, but it's consistant workflow. Get them out the way, then go away and do something more productive until the afternoon batch.
Batching email checking stops you getting drawn into the trap of having real-time one-line too-fro-ing conversations with people checking mail on the smartphones on the train/toilet/while out and about. You'll waste the whole day away. If a question you receive on email requires follow ups, pick up the phone.
Set your email client to only check/refresh every 2-3 hours if you can. stops you being tempted. If you're in a rush for something in particular you can always press that button to get it to refresh earlier.
EDIT: I wouldn't even bother telling people you do this, you'll most likely have a phone too, so if they're in a real rush it won't take them long to learn for themselves that this is a better way of quick communication. Email is electronic letter writing. There's better ways for near-instant communication
2ND EDIT: I actually started doing the above because my boss was using emails to me as a notepad for himself. I had to stop running all over the place for him, all the time. He soon learned, it may not be instant, but it'd still get done soon enough.
My tools are:
Pen
A4 notebook (approx one every 2 months)
Outlook - single inbox, find things by searching
Lync IM
Desk phone
Mobile phone (calls + texts)
But none are as powerful as "It's on the list, but not yet at the top."
I can relate to the colleague distraction comments, there's a balance to be had between maintaining productive relationships and too obviously displaying a do not disturb sign.
To use the lingo, knowing your objectives and stakeholders is key to keeping on track.
A lot of people procrastinate. Especially when out of their comfort zone.
Just do it. It gets easier.
Learn to say no.
Prioritise and list.
Make use of schedules.
Set times for checking emails.
Turn the internet off if it's not needed.
Avoid unnecessary and time wasting meetings.
Edit - Use technology to your advantage.
I use dictation on my phone for emails, when I can't type, and use a business card scanner for developing potential clients database.
David Allen/GTD +1
I use a GTD based app called Things - pricy but works really well for me.
Wunderlist downloaded, looks good, do I need to go Pro to collaborate?
Mugboo - Member
Wunderlist downloaded, looks good, do I need to go Pro to collaborate?
-
Nope, as far as I know