// The guys at Time #Management Ninja have a short guide on reducing your mail clutter allowing you to be more #productive .
1. One Day at a Time: If you already have a lot of mail, realize that you can't empty it all on one day. You can do it gradually though.
2. You Touch It, You Own It: Make it a habit that if you open an email that you immediately decide what is the next action to be taken (reply, ignore, etc). Then file it accordingly and move it of your inbox.
3. Batch Your Email: Handle mail in batches, for example once per hour or even once per day. Increase the automatic checking of new email accordingly. Getting notified of new mail only distracts you from your main tasks.
4. Automate Your Email: use rules to automatically move incoming mail to the corresponding folders, for example all your newsletters to a "newsletter" folder when you can read them at your own time.
5. Stop Using Your Inbox as Your Todo List: It will just clutter up and you can't have a clear view of what is more important to handle first.
6. Schedule Time With Your Email: Find a time of the day that is best for handling mail. Handling mail does not require a lot of "brain power". Try doing it at the end of the day.
7. Send Less, Get Less: Some mails don't need to be responded. Some other mails are best dealt by getting on the phone for 2 mins and clearing up the issue rather than spending 30 mins on a mail ping-pong. :)
More on the original article here http://bit.ly/WtTg9m
Tags: Management, productive
