MODERN MANAGEMENT
How to organise your Inbox By
Dermot Crowley
My father was the chief accountant for the ESB , or Electricity Supply Board in Ireland . He had a big desk , a big office and a big job . ( We had a normal size house and a small car though ). I am sure my father was a busy man , but he never seemed busy . His desk was always tidy . He was always home by 5.30pm . I can ’ t ever remember him working weekends . He was orderly , organised and decisive . He managed his time well , and did not suffer those who did not , including me !
Now , to be fair , it was a different era . And it was Dublin ! But still , how have things changed so much in only a few decades ? We are now so busy all of the time . Too much to do , too many meetings and definitely too many emails . Our Inboxes seem to have become our default screen when at our desk , and we seem to spend more and more of our time trying to just stay on top of the deluge of noise , conversations , requests and actions . My father did not have to cope with this sort demand on his time . He had retired before email had really made its mark . If he did have email though , I believe he would have taken a very pragmatic and decisive approach to it , and would have been one of those managers that was in control of their Inbox .
Email is probably the most prolific input that you receive in your role . Work comes to us in many ways – by phone , paperwork across our desk , interruptions , meeting actions . But we tend to get more emails that any other form of incoming work . Some of my senior clients would get 400 – 600 emails per day ! That is crazy .
My belief is that if you want to ensure you are spending your time on the work that will make a real difference in your role , you have to get on top of your Inbox . If not , you may end up spending your days in a busy , but ultimately unproductive state .
26 ModernBusiness May 2016