[EN] Part 5: Your most important Tools - Mail Program

In today's article we are talking about another tool that will help you to support your daily work. At the same time, unfortunately, it is also the program that could boycott you the most in your productivity - the mail program.

How does the mail program differ from the rest of the tools you use and about which we have already read? While you actively manage your calendar, ToDo-List Manager or note app and at the time you determine, messages arrive in the mail program from all sides and at any time of the day or night in your inbox. Relevant and less relevant mails, newsletters, project-related mails, invitations to a meeting, invoices, notifications from your social networks, etc. The list is endless and since you have more than one mail account today, the flood of news doesn't seem to stop.

Devices are getting smaller and smaller and yet their performance is increasing. These can be tablets or the latest generations of smartphones. Often you replace a PC the "small office" fits with all the associated advantages and disadvantages in your trouser pocket. The clear separation of working time and place no longer exists. Therefore, we must create mechanisms with which you can protect yourself from the flood of mail.

At the same time, the mail, at least in the professional sector, is still one of the most frequently used forms of communication between two or more people. So we need to find a way for you to positively use this information channel and prevent the number of emails you receive over the day from overwhelming you.

Let's take a quick look at the statistics:

• Each person is confronted per day with 300 pieces of information (in different forms, in different ways) (documents, mails, questions from colleagues, etc.).
• This corresponds to a daily data volume of approx. 34 GB.
• Every person receives an average of 56 mails a day - and the number is rising.
• PRO WEEK we spend in only 8 hours! with our family

The mail program is probably the second most powerful tool available to you next to the calendar. So all we have to do is install a mechanism that allows us not to lose track of the number of mails. And at a certain point in time we decide what kind of mail it is and what we do with it. For example, time blockers in the calendar can help you to check your inbox 2-3 times a day and not only read the mails in it, but process them.

With the right setup and a few rules, this will be child's play - promised.

So why is it so important that we organize?

• Prevent lost time Editing your inbox (and processing mail) means saving time. Editing means: Deciding what kind of mail it is and what to do with it next. The time saved can be used for more interesting and important topics.
• The right filing for every mail In your inbox, mails of various categories arrive. Mails to which you must reply (and from which a task can also derive), mails that are pure information (newsletters, CC mails, etc.) and mails that can be assigned to a project and thus designated as a reference. Often these do not have to be processed or answered in a timely manner. Nevertheless, they serve as carriers for information that is needed at a later date. What they all have in common is that they have to be stored in a certain place and found quickly at the right time.
• Stress is reduced An empty inbox gives you a good feeling of having everything under control. You feel less stressed and can end the day relaxed.

Ideally, mail programs are already installed free of charge with your operating system. Whether Apple Mail, Microsoft Mail (or the premium version: Outlook) or Gmail from Google. You can start setting up your system in no time at all.

In the second part of the article you will read what you need to do to set up an efficient system in just a few steps that will help you manage your mail flood and increase your productivity.