Manage your email before it manages you

I have what I call triage in my daily schedule. The word is often used in the medical emergency context, but it also means “the determination of priorities for action.”

I do this by turning off all chimes and other such notifications on my email and only open it at certain times of the day to deal with what is often neither urgent nor productive. I also try to deal with every email the first time I see it with one of the 5 D’s. I either:

• Delete it
• Deal with it by responding
• Defer it by flagging it and keeping it in my inbox
• Delay it by placing in a folder
• Delegate it by forwarding the email to a staff person, as appropriate

This way, I avoid having other people’s priorities and unimportant requests consume every minute of my work day.

See more about time management in the 2016 ConneXion Zone video “Sales tips to get you to the top.”

Written by Randy L. Scritchfield, CFP, LUTCF, a 32-year MDRT member from Damascus, Maryland