Welcome to Leading People with me , gerry Marais , this week . It's One Simple Thing , where in each episode , I share a quick , actionable tip to help you bring out the best in yourself and others . One Simple Thing is created for young leaders , but hey , us older folks can still learn a thing or two . Ask my dog . He's learned a few new tricks recently .
Here's a question for you have you ever opened your email first thing in the morning only to feel your day slip out of your control ? Oh boy , yes , all the time . That's because , when you think about it , your email inbox is actually a tool for other people's priorities , not yours .
When you let it set the tone for your day , you're giving away control of your time and focus . Oh my God , really yes , you're giving away your control . Who in their right mind does that ? So here's one simple thing to try out tomorrow Don't check your email first thing in the morning .
Instead , focus on your most important task , your MIT , or a priority you've planned the night before . Check out episode 64 of Leading People to learn more about your MIT . Why does this work ? Because this keeps you in control of your agenda , not someone else's agenda controlling you .
But I can hear you saying what about all those people who want me to respond to their emails ? Yes , those guys . Okay , you have a point . I've even known people send an email to check whether you received their earlier email because you haven't responded yet . If you have people like this in your orbit , then here's a bonus tip for you .
Then here's a bonus tip for you Use an out-of-office message to inform people that you only process your emails a few times per day and you'll get to theirs when you do your processing . You could also add that , if their issue is extremely urgent , that they should call you . Thank you .
In the first two years of using this type of out-of-office message , I received wait for it only three phone calls , and two of those were from the same person who was not a client . The other one was from a client who really needed my help and I was able to respond immediately and solve their problem . And no , it didn't affect business .
Their problem , and no , it didn't affect business . You know most people can wait for your reply most of the time .
However , here's a caveat If your job is primarily to respond to emails for example , you work in customer support , and responding to emails first thing in the day is your most important task , then you may not find the remainder of this tip so useful , or maybe you will , because one day you have a different job .
So when you do eventually check your email ideally mid to late morning I usually check mine around 10 o'clock I recommend that you batch process your emails using a simple three-step process Respond immediately if it's something that you can answer on the spot , flag emails for later that need a more comprehensive response .
I recommend setting aside a specific time every day for these types of emails and more about this in a future episode and delete or archive anything irrelevant . I would say that I delete or archive 75 to 80% of my emails every day , every day .
Wow , yes , this is because I've signed up for stuff , when I've downloaded something special and I'm not so interested in all their follow-up emails . What you'll find is , when you process emails like this , you actually spend less time on emails .
When you do actually go through them , I find that if I have roughly 40 to 50 emails in my inbox and I often have more that I've processed them all within 10-15 minutes using this approach . Why ? Because it's a focused , proactive activity rather than a reactive one rather than a reactive one .
So , to conclude , adopting this one simple thing ensures you're managing your email and not letting it manage you , and it keeps your energy and focus where it belongs on what really matters . Test this out for yourself .
Notice how much more productive and in control you feel when your day starts with your priorities , not the priorities that others have put in your inbox . And that's another one Simple thing . Thanks for tuning in . Remember , small steps can lead to big changes . Test out this one simple thing and notice how it transforms your day . Let me know how you get on .
Reach out on LinkedIn and connect with me . Mention the podcast and if you'd like to learn more One Simple Things , then subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast channel and follow our LinkedIn Leading People page .
In our next episode of One Simple Thing , we'll explore another easy way to be a great leader by bringing out the best in yourself and those around you . And in between , you can check out one of my longer conversations with leading people about yes , you've guessed it , leading people . So until then , keep exploring and stay curious .