How many e-mails are in your Sent Mail folder?

None? Hundreds? Thousands?

I was working with a client the other day and he had 32,000 e-mails in his Sent Mail folder. That’s a lot to search through if you’re looking for something you’ve sent. It took quite a while for them to load on the screen when he clicked on the folder. What a burden on the system. And what a waste of time.

Most professionals don’t really pay attention to the Sent Mail folder. It’s kind of invisible to most and my clients are no different. But I’m here to tell you… there are treasures in there.

Sent Mail holds gold

Sent Mail can hold many good things you need to be aware of and need to take action on. When you send someone an e-mail it could be because you’re starting a new task or project and you’ve asked someone to do something for you. This is especially common when you have a team to delegate to.

What if that person doesn’t meet your deadline? What if they drop the ball? You don’t want to forget about some of these delegated items.

Even if the recipient of your e-mail isn’t on your team, but is a colleague for instance, what if they don’t answer your question in time? What if you want to follow up on requests? How will you remember to follow up?

You need to be in the driver’s seat of your work day, not the backseat or the trunk. You need to stay in control of your tasks and projects. Don’t gamble by leaving it up to someone else. Remember, “pending” always turns back into action for YOU… with few exceptions. So don’t take a chance that the person you’re e-mailing with will always be on top of your sent mail. You need to be on top of it.

So while I was working with my client, I went through my tips and strategies on Sent Mail and why he should give this folder regular attention and he started to understand. As we went about emptying his Sent Mail folder completely (and no, we did not delete them all) he discovered three things I want to share with you so maybe you can give yourself and your Sent Mail folder a break today.

1. Don’t Waste Time

First, my client discovered that he was burdening his system and his time with the high quantity of Sent Mail. Not only is that a lot of e-mail for some systems and servers to hold, but even if there’s plenty of space for those e-mails (never mind what your Inbox and e-mail folders hold) do you really have the kind of time it takes to search through that many e-mails when you’re looking for something? And do you have time to search further through the Search results when it gives you 1,000 e-mails in the Search results?

Remember, the less you keep, the less you have to manage, but also, the less you keep in your system, the less your system has to manage – or sift through – when you’re looking for something.

If this folder is going to be of any use to anyone, it should be reviewed regularly: every day, every other day or at least a couple times a week. Then you can move, delete or use the e-mails you’ve sent. I’ll get to “why” next.

2. Use a Trusted System

The second thing my client discovered was that his “system” of copying himself on e-mails he wanted to follow up on was not a completely trusted system, which is a problem if you’re striving for peak productivity.

You have to have systems around you that you can rely on… all the time. So while he had taken care of most of his future actions and follow ups with his “copy” method, he realized he’d forgotten all about several important tasks and follow ups that he should have taken action on a while ago. And he had forgotten to copy himself so they never made it back into his awareness.

So we quickly abolished his method of copying himself in favor of a regular review. He can send e-mail and trust that it’ll land in his Sent Mail folder and he can keep his Inbox from filling up with more e-mails that really didn’t belong there.

3. Unburden Your Mind

Finally, my client realized that taking the time to review Sent Mail briefly every couple of days was a better and more worthwhile approach, because he knew he could capture – all at once – the e-mails that he needed to delete, the e-mails he needed to move to an e-mail folder and the e-mails he needed to put on his Task list for future action or follow up. Then he could keep his system clean and unburdened and he wouldn’t have the burden of wondering what he forgot.


So what’s in YOUR Sent Mail folder? A few treasures, perhaps? Take a look at what you can delete, move or use for future follow up. You never know until you look!

When you’re at work, you’re surrounded by plenty of temptations, like things, habits and routines, not the least of which is the birthday cake that someone just brought in to celebrate someone’s birthday, right?

Well, gastronomic goodies aside, the other temptations in your day can prove to be worthy adversaries to your plans to be productive and I want to share a few tips with you about how to best avoid getting or keeping yourself in the company of too many temptations.

“Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.”
~Author Unknown

First, let me start by saying that avoidance of a temptation is typically a much better strategy than resistance to it. So if you can remove the temptation or change your environment in such a way that you’re no longer feeling tempted by something, you’ll have a better chance at success.

I can give you a real life example, although not related to work, but you’ll appreciate this if you’d like to improve your health. But I have to set the stage first, so bear with me here…

I was recently tested and diagnosed with not one, but two different health issues. One is something many people suffer from, but they just don’t know it and that is adrenal exhaustion. I’m in Stage 3. To give you an idea of how bad this is (and this is a very basic way of explaining it) picture a chart with a maximum top line and a minimum bottom line, going left to right, across the chart. The space in between these lines indicates where “normal” people would fall. I’m below the bottom line. Not good. I’m running on empty apparently, but I’m getting back into balance as we speak.

The second issue is a digestive disorder that has brought on all of my food sensitivities in recent years. I’ll skip the details on this, but just know that these two issues together made for a completely “off” year last year and now I’m fixing things and getting healthy again – yay! And here’s how this ties into temptation…

I had previously been tempted by carbs and sweets, like many other people, but now the tables have turned. I’m 16 days into a 45-day restricted diet so my stomach can heal. Are you ready to hear what I can’t eat? Here’s the list: corn, diary, wheat, flour, gluten, eggs, soy, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, nuts, seeds, high glycemic foods, night shade vegetables, dried fruits, most condiments, processed foods, and anything with preservatives or additives.

“What’s left?” you might ask.

Not much, I’m afraid. Only organic veggies (and not all of them), organic fruits (and not all of these either), organic protein, and a few other organic foods and that’s it.

So what of temptation? Has this been hard for me? Have I been tempted to eat anything else?

Not one bit. And the reasons are two-fold: first, my health is on the line and I take that very seriously. Second, I have a list of what I CAN eat and everything else has been removed or put away and forgotten. There is no temptation because I changed my environment and I’m crystal clear on what I CAN and CANNOT eat. If I go from that list, it’s easy. Everything else is simply not an option.

So back to your work day…

You can change your environment and remove certain temptations if you are seriously ready to improve your productivity, because if you suffer from disorganization and lack of productivity in some way, nothing will change until you do. And if something big is “on the line” for you, you might just want to get started with that change now and then don’t look back.

What’s at stake for you? Could it be your next level of success, business growth, future promotions, your health, or maybe your sanity and peace of mind every day? Whatever it is, think about taking it seriously. Maybe it’s time to do something about it.

Here are some examples of the kinds of temptations you might be entertaining in your work day. Think about these and consider changing your environment, changing your thinking, and changing your routine in order to reach a goal that means a lot to you.

1. Temptations of paper: Having far too many pads and post-it notes around you so you’re always scribbling notes and lists and before you know it, you have dozens of important notes, information and to-do lists. You only need one pad and that’s it.

2. Temptations of e-mail: Living from your Inbox, you’re rolling with the tide… riding the wave… waiting for your Inbox to tell you what to do next. Process your e-mail for certain periods of time each day, not every minute of the day, all day long. And when you’re focused on tasks and priorities, turn away from your e-mail altogether.

3. Temptations of procrastination: Not giving yourself enough time on your calendar to get things done. In blocks of 60 to 90 minutes, this time is meant for generically working on your task list and it can be very effective during the times when you can also block distractions and interruptions. Planning this time in advance for every day of the week is the key.

4. Temptations of being all things to all people: Leaving your door open all day every day invites far too many interruptions and distractions. You have to give yourself quiet time each day in order to focus on your priorities in peace.

5. Temptations of clutter: Avoiding decision making by keeping everything and avoiding repercussions if you actually get rid of anything. You’re taking easy street, but it’ll cost you later. It may already be costing you now in lost time or the stressful burden of having too much stuff. Simplify and stop living in fear that you’ll get rid of the wrong thing. Change your environment by getting organized and clearing everything away so you won’t have any distractions. Get systems in place you can actually trust and in doing so, you’ll find what you need when you need it, save time and make meaningful progress.

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So take charge of your work day! There are no victims here. You’re in control. I know you can make a change if you really want to.

And if you need help making changes, consider joining my upcoming Taskology™ Boot Camp, starting on May 2nd. Not only can you learn better ways to manage your work day and everything in it, but you’ll have my support for 6 weeks and the support of those who also joined the class. Together we will improve the collective productivity and success! Get the details here: www.ProductiveDay.com/taskology-boot-camp.

This blog post is based on a question I received from Rachel Ramey and she asks:

“Do you still recommend an electronic task list for those who don’t have portable devices? I like the idea of an e-list except that I’d never have it with me when I’m away from my desk! Just wondering if I’m overlooking something.”

Rachel Ramey
www.titus2homemaker.com

Note: Through additional communication with Rachel I found out that she is starting to work from home, she has a laptop, but does not have a smart phone. She also says, “If I could find something that would function as a PDA + cell phone, but did not require a data plan, I’d jump on it. But thus far I’ve been told that anything that does those two things will require a data plan or the phone company won’t even activate it.”


First, thank you, Rachel, for your question! And second, yes, it’s true… the “data plan” allows you to get things on your computer – like documents and your e-mail system – to synchronize with a smart phone. That’s actually what you want! And the way technology is speeding along these days, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Anyway, whether you operate with or without a data plan and a smart phone (or tablet) my answer is still “yes” to using an electronic task list. It’s important to use an e-list whenever you can, especially if you have something as powerful as Microsoft Outlook® on your computer.

Here’s why…

An electronic task list, if you build it completely, will really help you get a TOTAL picture of what you need to do from day to day so you can get a sense of how much time you’ll need to accomplish everything you planned. If it’s not on the list, you don’t have a clear picture of all your to-dos.

For instance, if your tasks are currently on post-its, legal pads, planners, calendars, in your memory, in your e-mail, and all spread out, then you’re not getting a TOTAL picture of everything you need to do, have to do, want to do – and everything you said “yes” to – as far as tasks are concerned.

So your e-list on the computer can and should encompass all actionable tasks, whether personal or business in nature. One of the personal tasks I’m referring to could be a task like calling the dentist for yourself or calling the school to talk to someone about your child. Whatever it is, if it HAS to be accomplished between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm in your work day (or beyond if you’re an entrepreneur!) then it still goes on your electronic Task list with all the other business tasks you have planned for that day. Why? Because it takes TIME out of your day and it has to be represented somewhere and prioritized with everything else. And your list should be grouped by target date of action so you don’t have an endless list of 100 things to do all on one day.

One thing I recommend against is creating two different action lists – one for personal and one for business. One of the exceptions is when you pull ideas away from actionable tasks. Then you can have two lists because one set is actionable and the other set (the ideas) is not actionable.

In some cases, you may want several “ideas” lists, because I don’t know about you, but I have LOTS of ideas for my home or personal life and then I have a whole bunch of ideas for my business. As a matter of fact, that’s where I separate out what kinds of ideas I have for my business. For instance, I keep a list of “Writing” ideas, “Marketing” ideas,” “Social Media” ideas and more.

None of these ideas on my lists are actionable yet, but when I want to put one into action, I pull it over into my daily task list and plan when to take action. This daily list is where I can see what I plan to do literally from day to day. And each day is separate from the next.

In the end, if you don’t have a smart phone or tablet, and don’t plan on getting one, you can still set up your e-list on your computer in whatever e-mail system you have, and if you need the list when you leave the office, you can always print it and take it with you. However, this is only necessary if you need to make calls or do other tasks “from the road” or elsewhere when you’re out of your office.

If you’re just running personal errands and crossing things off a short list while you’re out, there’s no reason why you couldn’t still use a small pad of paper for that kind of stuff. I still use paper for a grocery list and for running personal errands when I’m out and about. When I get home, the paper gets tossed. That may shock some of you that I would say that, but I don’t consider errands to be “tasks” and when I’m away from my office, I don’t need my task list with me. I have it on my Blackberry, but I don’t reference it, because when I’m out I’m either focused on working with clients or I’m doing something else. So it’s easy for me to separate these two.

I welcome additional questions or comments if you have them!

This blog post is an answer to a question recently received from a reader, Rose K.

“I work two jobs, but one is on a computer all day. So because of access to the computer at work and not much time to work at home, I conduct my personal business online during my lunch hour. The problem comes in with my organizational system and carrying things back and forth and getting things filed (they are mostly piled until I can get to them.) Any ideas?”


Thank you, Rose, for your question. Yes, I have a few ideas for you.

First, let me add two tips that may help with your overall situation. I’m seeing more here than just an issue with carrying things between work and home and staying organized.

1. It’s really important to have a trusty file system at home in which you can drop things when you’re finished with them (unless you can toss a few).

I know in another e-mail to me you mentioned, “Once I get home [the papers] get shifted - eventually - from my bag , then to a file pile… which I never seem to get time to get rid of.”

So investing some time to get the file system at home organized and squeaky clean will make it a lot easier for you to dispense with papers once you get home and you can avoid letting things pile up. You want it to be SO easy to file that you never create a to be filed pile. The time invested up front will allow you more freedom in the future.

2. Reduce your bill-paying burden… and no, I don’t mean we can make the bills disappear. This is something I’ve recommended to both clients and friends… it’s setting up a special account at your bank just for bill paying where each bill is automatically withdrawn every month by the company billing you.

This is an account that always holds an amount covering all standard (read: not wildly fluctuating) bills that recur every month: electricity, heat, mortgage, rent, water, cable, phone, internet, car insurance, etc…

These are amounts that pretty much stay the same from month to month and as long as the special bank account has the total monthly amount available (and maybe a dash more for cushion), you won’t have to write checks or pay online or watch the calendar ever again. Plus, it will help you get crystal clear about what you’re paying for, when it gets withdrawn, and perhaps will give you a chance to consolidate, if the opportunity presents itself, or cut back if need be.

This could greatly help you reduce the amount of bill paying, paper carrying, and payment planning you might be doing. I’ve been doing this for at least 15 years and I’ve never once regretted setting it up. It has made my life SO much easier because I’m only thinking about one big account and not a dozen little individual bills to pay.

So with these two tips in mind, I’ll try to fulfill your original request for ideas. As you travel between home and work it sounds like you’re carrying a lot of stuff back and forth. So these are three different avenues you can take to stay organized.

Scenario #1
When you’re taking paperwork to and from home, only take what you can work on and complete at work that day. I realize that some issues and circumstances drag on past the first day you try to resolve them, but exclusive of those, try not to be over-zealous by taking everything you have to do when it can’t comfortably fit into one of your lunch hours. This will reduce the amount of things you’re hauling back and forth between home and work.

Or…

Scenario #2
Another approach would be to bring all of your personal papers and files into work that you want to work on for the week and leave them there in a file drawer. If you rarely, if ever, get to work on these papers at home anyway, they could stay safely locked up at work in a file drawer in your desk.

I recommend setting up a “Personal” file (or whatever you want to call it) at work in a desk drawer so you can reach for what you need when you need it. Then when it’s finished, toss it or take it back home and file it.

Also, you may want more than one file because “Personal” might be too big a bucket, so you can separate your papers according to major categories like finances/banking, insurance, health/medical, family (for fun, vacations, RSVPs, etc.), Home, and Bills to Pay. This is where an organized file system at home helps you too, because you can mirror the major file categories you have at home in your files at work.

And you may need other files in addition to or instead of these, but you only need a handful. Fewer is better here. Just be sure you can find what you need when you need it.

Oh, and for all you readers out there who have children, a category for them is handy too, for school, activities, hobbies, etc… Rose told me that she and her husband don’t have kids at home anymore, so that wasn’t part of the list of things she’s carrying back and forth. But for everyone else, it could be a helpful category to have.

Or…

Scenario #3
3. If you’re not comfortable leaving your papers at work, then purchase a portable, expandable file at Office Depot, Staples or other office supply retailer that has multiple dividers or pockets. You can use this to separate your papers according to the major categories already mentioned above.

Put a file name on each section according to the kinds of papers you generally carry back and forth and make it easy to find what you need when you need it. And again, mirroring the major file categories you have at home in this portable file is going to help – not all of them, only the ones you need.

Here are a few samples of what you can purchase to carry your papers between home and work…

I hope that gives you, Rose, and everyone else with a similar question, a few things to consider. I welcome additional questions and comments, so if you want to dig a little deeper into this, feel free to add your thoughts below.

Also, if you want the blueprint to get your papers and files organized, pick up my e-book that focuses only on getting organized. It’s for organizing your office, no matter where it is! Click here for more information or to order.

Today’s blog is an answer to a question I received recently from Sarah B. And since this is a question I get a lot, I wanted to answer it on my blog for others to read and understand how Taskology™ is intended to work.

Leslie,

I’m very intrigued by your system, but I’m wondering how Outlook based it is. While I have access to Outlook at work, I don’t have access to it when I’m not at work, so the Outlook system isn’t going to work for me. I have an iPhone, so I can use something like Wunderlist or the various other tools (Remember the Milk, Toodledo, etc). Is the system adaptable?

Thanks!!


Thank you for your question, Sarah. To begin with, there are actually two questions above: one is whether Taskology™ is Outlook-based and the other is about how adaptable the system is. I’m going to address each question separately, because they have separate answers.

The answer to the 1st question is that Taskology™ is not so much Outlook-based as it is “system-based.” Taskology™ operates more powerfully as a complete and total electronic system, no matter what e-mail system is being used, although I happen to think that Outlook is the most powerful tool out there. And even though all of the screen shots in the Taskology™ Home Study Program are from Outlook, if you can apply the same strategies to your technology and it works, that would be fine too.

But let’s talk about those other systems. After using many of them, I can see their limitations. While some of these have improved over the years, I chose to use Outlook because the other systems can’t do what Outlook can do. These are systems like Act, Smart Office, and Sales Force (which are CRMs) and Lotus Notes, Palm, Groupwise, Thunderbird, g-Mail and Entourage.

In any case, the kind of system I teach, support and recommend is one where E-mail, Tasks, Calendar, Contacts and Notes are all part of one system – connected and “talking” with each other – where you can move information back and forth between the “modules” with ease, speed and simplicity. Not only that, but you can also easily customize the screens in Outlook. All of these are things you cannot easily do in all the other systems.

Taskology™, when coupled with a system like Outlook, is one that allows you to empty your e-mail Inbox (without putting all of them in folders on the left – nope, that’s not it), as well as build a complete and total e-Task list (with tasks from everywhere, including e-mail) and keep all your other systems (like your Calendar, Contacts, etc.) accurate and up to date with the latest information from your e-mail and elsewhere.

This scenario is optimal as compared to other scenarios I see or hear about regularly. The first scenario is the one we’ve already covered, where someone is using a system similar to Outlook, but it’s limited.

The second scenario is where someone is using a fragmented approach, which begins my answer to the 2nd question of adaptability. This scenario is one where someone is using one app for their tasks (like the ones mentioned in the question above), plus a different app for their calendar (or maybe they’re using a paper planner), and they’re getting their e-mail from g-mail, and their contacts are partially in g-mail and partially on their phone. But nothing communicates or easily transfers any information between the parts.

Now even though I’m making up this random example, it’s based on true accounts I’ve heard from professionals over the years who’ve managed fragmented systems that don’t talk to one another. There’s little power in a set-up like this. It’s not a “system” approach that will support you or your optimal productivity. You’re making it harder on yourself to manage information and be productive and it doesn’t have to be that way.

And while you may have a couple modules connecting and able to transfer data, you’re still operating without a complete system. Additionally, if you can’t synchronize all your data with your smart phone or tablet, then you don’t have all your necessary information at your fingertips.

As a result, you may not have a tight grip on all your tasks and priorities, you’re not likely able to empty your e-mail Inbox with ease, or enjoy having all your critical information where you need it, when you need it. You might even be using two calendars, including a paper calendar… maybe one for work and one at home.

Now I realize that some of these kinds of situations may not be your fault. I know many people may have a computer at work, but don’t have a computer at home or if they have a computer at home, it doesn’t communicate with their computer at work. These are the types of scenarios I address in private 1:1 consulting and in some cases – because I’m not a technology expert – I refer out certain tech questions to help some people solve their specific tech roadblocks. In addition, I won’t even begin to speak to the limitations of your company server, what your home computer can or cannot do, whether or not you can dial into your company’s server from home, how you’re using your laptop, and more.

So let’s answer the 2nd question.

Is Taskology™ adaptable to fragmented systems or set-ups 100%? No.

But is Taskology™ adaptable partially? Can you take the strategies from each Taskology™ chapter and apply them to each part of your individual systems (like Calendar and Tasks) whether they communicate or not? Certainly!

We don’t have to be “all or nothing” about this and I do have a few clients today who use pieces of the system and apply them to their office and work day and make the best of their technology situation. The rest of my clients are able to use and benefit from Taskology™ in its entirety.

And you can apply pieces of the system, too. However, you’d be leaving about 30% of the power of Taskology™ on the table. And the parts that make up the 30% loss will be mainly in e-mail management, which will affect your task management and your time management.

The bottom line is that Taskology™ is not meant for fragmented systems and you’d have a hard time enjoying the maximum impact and benefits of the system without using Outlook or a similar system. This is what I want for you and that’s why I designed the system the way I did.

If you’re using the fragmented approach – a system here, a system there – which is not what I recommend, you won’t be able to use, apply and enjoy all of the benefits of Taskology™. You’ll only get about 70% of the total approach.

Lacking the other 30% will weaken and compromise your work day and therefore weaken your work day productivity and effectiveness, too. Because when all parts aren’t connected and working in tandem, a miss is as good as a mile.

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If you’re interested in maximizing Taskology™ using Outlook, get the system today or grab the individual e-books that will help you with certain aspects of your work day. Click here to see them all: Taskology™ e-books. Either way, you’ll be able to take your productivity to new heights and make your work day a whole lot easier!

When you were young, your parents told you to do a million things, right? I know my parents did. And I was the youngest, so my older sister chimed in a lot too.

I was used to all the “do this” and “do that” going on, but the joke was on me one summer when my parents bought me a T-shirt in Ocean City, MD when I was about 8 or 10. It said, “I never get lost because my parents always tell me where to go.” And I wore it for YEARS, all during which they laughed hysterically because they knew I didn’t know what it meant. (I look back on that and think… that is SO not fair!)

Anyway, when you’re a child it feels like you’re being directed all the time and while most of the directives are for the benefit of safety, they’re also for the benefit of learning and growing. And hopefully, as we grow up we become more “advised” by our parents and less “bossed around.” At least, that’s how I remember my teen years through my college years and beyond.

The advice I heard might have seemed like a broken record at the time, but it also had weight and meaning I had yet to discover. I look back and think, “Hmmm, my parents really did know what they were talking about!” (Imagine that!?)

These days, there are quite a few things both my sister and I recall hearing from our parents that are applicable to life and work today. The bits of advice we heard and the lessons we learned were little recipes for happiness and success, some of which had been passed down through the ages. It reminds me of the line: “What you learned in kindergarten is all you need to know.”

Maybe you heard this one as a child: “Eat your veggies or no dessert.” This one was common. “You won’t get dessert if you don’t finish your vegetables” or “No dessert if you don’t finish your dinner.” At other times I heard, “You can’t go out and play until you finish your chores” or “You can’t watch TV until you’ve finished your homework.”

If you heard these lines too – or some variation – what you likely took away was the message “dessert last,” which meant you needed to do what you had to do in order to do what you really wanted to do.

It’s a good message that reminds us that whatever we really want out of life, we must work for – or put some level of effort forth – first. The key to progress and reaching any goal you’ve set for yourself (or your job, career or business) is to be highly focused on what you need to do first before spending time on the things you really want to do.

If you spend much of your time doing only the things you’d rather do, instead of what you need to do to make progress, then you’ll have wasted one of the only real assets you have these days: time. And most of use can’t afford to waste any time. A lot of that lost time can commonly be lost to things like procrastination, perfectionism and avoidance without really investigating the reasons behind these behaviors.

And then, if that weren’t enough, finding the balance between doing what you have to do and doing what you want to do is where the struggle lies. But finding that balance is also where real happiness begins. It doesn’t have to be 50/50. It can be another ratio that works for you. But that’s the key: it has to work for you.

And you’ll know if the balance isn’t there… if it’s not working. If you’re working too much, you’ll feel out of energy, stressed, frustrated or overwhelmed. If you’re playing too much, when you really need to be working, your job, career or business may be suffering in some way.

To find more of the happiness and success you want, be clear on 3 things:

• You’re balance today. See if you’re out of balance one way or the other.
• Your goals for yourself, your job, your career and/or your business. Do you have too many or too few?
• Your first or next steps to reach each and every goal. Are you trying to achieve too much at once? Or are you suffering from procrastination, avoidance or lack of motivation?

Ultimately, my hope is that you discover your passion and you’re able to turn it into a revenue-generating job, career or business and then “working” each day isn’t a burden. But even if you still hold a day job, I hope it supports a passion you enjoy in the hours when you’re not working.

Either way, focus on first things first – making sure you’re productive and showing good progress – and then enjoy your “dessert,” whatever it may be.

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Ready to find your balance and get clarity on all you’re trying to accomplish? Check out Leslie’s Productive Day Power Hour or get a FREE 1/2 hour strategy session with Leslie to find out more. Apply today.

If you’re like most professionals today you have too much of everything except TIME. One of the heaviest loads to bear these days is e-mail. But even after getting too much to begin with, I find there are groups out there who are self-proclaimed “knowledge junkies” or “e-hoarders,” which is so interesting to me. Since when is more the solution to having too much?

I’ve recently read several articles about the pros and cons of hoarding information and e-mail. First of all, is there really a “pro” side to that? According to a few people’s comments on the subject – yes… surprisingly enough… But of course, I disagree. (No surprise there.)

Are the folks who delight in e-hoarding (minus the true spam) the ones who are afraid they’ll miss out on important breaking news or the latest discoveries? Or do they fear they’ll never find the information again, even though we have more access to information today than ever before in history? Or will they run out of ideas if they don’t collect as much as humanly and electronically possible?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I do know that they don’t worry about space for all this e-hoarding because for them, space is not an issue. However, there are other potential pitfalls that can cost you such as…

• Decision-making avoidance
• Wasted time looking for things because the more you keep, the more you have to manage and sift through
• Confusion or overwhelm due to volume
• Lack of focus and being easily distracted
• Time spent (wasted?) on collecting and fancy filing rather than doing and achieving
• Lost opportunities from not appreciating, using or acting on what’s been saved

E-hoarders continue to collect, even though they may not even be able to read everything and still… they never turn the faucet off. How they have enough time to read, sort and process all this information, I don’t know. And how can they actually put it all to good use? I don’t know the answer to that one either.

Well, this I know: I’m here to assist you if you find yourself stuck in e-mail overload and never really wanted to keep that much! You may have suddenly realized you’re in too deep and see that it’s time to make a change. If that’s the case, I’m here to help if you’re most interested in…

• Keeping only what’s useful to you, both now and in the foreseeable future
• Processing your e-mail out of the Inbox so you can clearly separate the useful information and actionable tasks from the junk.
• Knowing that all reference information you need is exactly where it needs to be: organized and categorized in certain places such as an e-file system, in e-mail folders, in Contacts, on the Calendar, on an electronic Task list, etc…
• Freeing up time and space and using each on opportunities, projects and creating progress.
• Being less frustrated, overwhelmed or stressed out by all the information swirling around.
• And managing less and searching less and achieving more and living more.

Keep in mind, I’m not an advocate of deleting every e-mail. I never have been. A lot of my clients have to keep a lot (or all!) of their e-mail for a lot of reasons – mostly legal – and I understand that.

But my concern is for the professionals out there who have no obligation to keep all the information they keep, but are spending time organizing it in e-mail folders because they don’t know what else to do with it.

Another concern is for those who are keeping the flood gates open to even more information than they can ever possibly need, read or use.

And finally, there are a lot of professionals out there just passively leaving everything in the Inbox and that’s not where it belongs. The Inbox is an INbox. It’s not a file cabinet, address book or to-do list.
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My last post brought forth a wonderful comment from a reader who stood up for paper to-do lists and while I’m a firm believer in electronic task lists, I know there are many professionals who still use, love and rely on paper.

It’s no surprise to me that many people don’t actually get why an electronic task list is such a big deal. For me, task management – and the electronic task list I promote in Microsoft Outlook® – is the heartbeat of my system – Taskology™ – The Science of Getting Things Done. It’s my passion… and I’m passionate about productivity.

For you, I’m sure you’re thinking a list on paper is the same as one that’s typed up, right? Not the one I teach…

And because only my clients see exactly how I teach task management in Outlook using Taskology™ everyone else is in the dark. So let me shed a little light on this so it’s not such a mystery.

First, I have to mention that *I* don’t even like the default screens in Outlook, even though it’s my software of choice. What I *do* like is that I have the flexibility to move things around and that’s exactly what I do. Things come out and better features go in – without complicating it of course. What I teach is simple, logical and easy to use. It’s just not exactly what you see when you click on your Outlook Task list for the first time.

Second, I have to mention that I don’t teach project management. I teach task management. And while most systems, like Outlook, are set up to do both “project” and “task” management, I only teach task management because it’s driven by next action steps. Getting projects done are all part of Taskology™, of course, but we manage it from determining the first or next action step, while keeping final deadlines in mind.

And third, in Taskology™, tasks go on a Task list, not a calendar. A calendar is for scheduled commitments: meetings, appointments, calls, vacations – any personal or business commitment that’s scheduled. This can also include an appointment with yourself, too, if you plan to spend an hour working on something special. Otherwise, tasks go on a Task list.

Here’s my list of the 5 BEST reasons (out of many more, I can assure you) to use an electronic task list over paper. Even if you haven’t seen exactly how I teach what I teach, these alone are enough to make you drop paper like a hot potato and run.


1. You’ll only have one tool to manage for task management.
Paper lists don’t automatically mean you’re using just one tool to manage tasks. This is one of the things that can cause a lot of chaos and confusion. People often use way more than just one paper list including post-it notes, big pads, medium pads, little pads, legal pads, decorative pads, scraps of paper, spiral notebooks, the papers and files on your desk, your memory, your calendar and more. And just last week my client and I had a good laugh over the two lists of notes and reminders we found on her desk – one on a paper towel and the other on a napkin!

That’s a lot of places to look when looking for to-dos and believe me, I’ve seen my clients use all of these at the same time. Again, this is what can causes a lot of chaos and confusion. And my question to you would be, “How can you prioritize all of that?” You can’t really… but we’ll come back to prioritizing in a minute.

Using an electronic Task list will simplify your day and your task management because there’s only one place to look for everything you need to do, have to do, want to do and dream of doing. There will be no lost to-dos, reminders or deadlines because your list (when properly built and used) will be complete, accurate and up-to-the minute.


2. You’ll never have to write or re-write a to-do list on paper ever again.
Most professionals who use paper lists write one every day, every couple of days or several times a day. That’s wasted time right there. Not only that, but when things get crossed out, it can get messy and confusing. I’ve known many clients who’ve missed critical tasks because they were lost on a pad where the to-dos above and below it were crossed out, and with all the scratching out with pens and highlighters, what was between the lines got missed.

Using an electronic task list, you’re either checking tasks off or deleting them entirely, leaving your remaining list easy to see, easy to read, and easy to use.


3. You’ll always have a complete list.
Lists on paper are never complete. I’ve never seen anyone put everything all on one piece of paper or one list. So when you use a paper list, you’ll never have a total picture of everything you need to do because people don’t generally build them that way. And I’m not recommending that you do. It would be a nightmare.

Paper lists are typically going to be missing tasks like phone calls, e-mails actions, and the papers and files you use as reminders that are sitting on your desk. It could also be missing what you’ve written in your meeting notes, what’s in your memory or what’s already on other pads around your desk.

When this happens, you can easily miss a task, deadline or opportunity because it’s not all right in front of you, already planned and prioritized for today or future days.

Using an electronic Task list in the way I teach it in Taskology™ you build the list completely and entirely so you have a “Mission Control” of sorts where you have all the facts, all the tasks and all the power to choose what to do first, second and third. Plus, you get a really good sense of whether or not you’ve bitten off too much to chew! When it’s all in one place, you can really get a good view of everything so you can decide what to do and what not to do – or what to take off your plate.


4. You’ll have complete list of what you want to do and when.
A to-do list written on a paper typically has only the “what” – it’s what you’re going to do, what you plan to do or what you need to do. I’ve never seen anyone add an action date for every to-do listed on paper unless it’s in a planner and in that case, it’s already listed on the date you plan to take action.

If you’re using paper, you probably just write things down as they come out of your head. Doing the almighty “brain drain” is great, but you’re not actually planning when to take action. (Again, you can do this in a planner, but if you don’t get to it, you have to re-write it.)

Anyway, a lot of times, a list on paper straight out of your head is going to be a list for today or this week, but not much farther out. And if there are any big deadlines you have to meet, you may be capturing those, but they’re “due” dates. The list I teach is driven by “do” dates.


5. You’ll have a list you can easily prioritize and reprioritize all day, every day.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to prioritize all of your tasks using a paper list. This makes it hard to stay on top of your priorities as your day changes, especially when emergencies and issues come up.

When you use an electronic task list, your target dates for action are your first level of priority. I also teach an additional level of priority when I teach Taskology™, but for now let’s just focus on the action date.

Your day will never be static and therefore your task list will never be static. Your Task list has to be flexible and easy to use so it can quickly change it with your ever-changing day. Outlook and Taskology™ allow you to do that very easily because when your day changes, it only takes a second to change the target date of action for a task if you want to move it forward. You don’t lose tasks, forget tasks or risk missing anything later.

Using an electronic task management approach allows you to keep a list of everything, one that’s accurate and up-to-date all the time, when built and used as directed – like a productivity prescription. And the ability to keep track of all of your tasks and quickly reprioritize are big benefits for today’s fast-paced business day.

That’s the question I got from a member of a live audience during a company training I did several years ago. I’ll never forget that question and not just because of her doubtful attitude, but also because I could tell she wasn’t really clear on what productivity was all about.

The truth is that she didn’t actually know what she was capable of. And by the way, I happened to know exactly where she was on the road to peak productivity and I knew she needed help, but she was shutting down and putting the brakes on no matter what.

But without getting organized and without putting simple, yet effective, systems in place for managing tasks, time, e-mail, electronic documents and more, she would have no idea what she was capable of or how much more productive she could really be.

I’ve found over the years that there are a few misconceptions about what greater productivity can really do for you. I’ve read about how some people stand up and defend disorganization, saying “messy is better!” But we all know how I feel about that.

More recently, a colleague of mine sent me a blog post that actually surprised me because I disagreed with most of what this productivity guru said about productivity… how we should toss out all the advice(!) And while I actually like this guy and I’ve even read one of his books (no, it’s not David Allen), the advice I read just got me all fired up.

Below is just one little statement from his post that I HAD to speak to:

“Toss productivity advice out the window. Most of it is well-meaning, but the advice is wrong for a simple reason: it’s meant to squeeze the most productivity out of every day, instead of making your days better.”

Totally not true in my opinion. It’s true that productivity is about completed product. In the manufacturing sense, more completed product out the door is optimal for factories or businesses that produce something tangible.

But that’s not what greater productivity necessarily means for humans in the professional world. Humans are not robots and while it’s nice to reach goals, complete tasks and get things done, there’s a bigger picture in mind. That big picture is about the quality of your work, the quality of your life and the fact that being productive means you get more time for you and the things you really want to do.

In my mind, I wrap productivity up with efficiency and effectiveness too. It’s not just about getting more done. It’s about getting the right things done faster and easier and with all the quality you can give.

So to this nay-sayer I would respond that I don’t tell everyone they have to get more done in their day – squeezing it so hard for all the completed product you can possibly get until you’re wiped out – although many bosses and leaders out there would like that. Instead, I promote being more productive so you can stay organized, stay on top of your game, and confidently pursue tasks and priorities of meaning and quality – both now and in the future – and do them better and more efficiently without any of the frantic, overwhelming feelings one might commonly feel.

Here’s my list outlining why you might want to stick with your plans for greater productivity and not toss it all out the window. I’ve included questions for each so you’ll check in with yourself and reflect on your own level of productivity.

1. You can enjoy more time

Greater productivity is meant to give you more control over your time so you can choose to do something else, whether related to your work or life. When you finish what you have to do, you should have room for what you want to do.


Are you in control of your tasks and time all the time and are you getting to what you really want to do each day?

2. You can do what you want

Greater productivity is meant to help you make sure you’re crystal clear on your priorities and help you hit them instead of losing them, missing deadlines on them and losing opportunities. A complete, electronic Task list can help you here. Relying on paper too much can cause confusion and leave room for error.

Are you always, 100% of the time crystal clear on your priorities and you’re not missing out on anything important to you?

3. You can find what you need

Greater productivity is meant to not only help you simplify, but truly get organized. Simplifying is only one part of the process, commonly thought of as “cleaning out” where there’s a lot of tossing going on. That’s only one part of the process of getting organized.

If you don’t organize what’s left into a simple, cohesive, logical and easy-to-use format, then you haven’t finished the whole process called “getting organized.” And not staying organized can greatly damage your productivity.

Can you find anything you need in your office and in your computer in 5 seconds or less every time?

4. You can move on

Greater productivity is meant to help you finish what you start. It’s not meant to have you start a million things and try to finish them all. It’s about making quality choices of what you’ll do with your time. It’s best to simplify what you start and be able to finish each endeavor in a reasonable amount of time (and hopefully these are your priorities) and not add SO much to your day that you’ll explode from all the pressure.

Disorganized professionals often have a lot of unfinished tasks piled up around them. This makes it hard to start new things and enjoy it because of the burden of unfinished business. Greater productivity can make your days a lot easier and a lot more efficient, allowing you to move on with peace of mind. If you already have too much going on and a lot of incompletes piling up, you could probably use a little productivity boost.

Are you finishing what you start and enjoy moving on? Do you feel on target most of the time or do you feel consistently behind the 8 ball?

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For more tips to tackle your biggest productivity challenges, be sure to read Leslie’s Articles and for personal coaching from Leslie, set up your very own Productive Day Power Hour and get started on your new productive path today.

Do you use an Inbox and Outbox in your office? I work with a lot of clients who do. And I don’t think anyone needs them. At least not anyone who’s seriously interested in staying organized, productive and clutter-free.

I’m all about simplifying. I want everyone to simplify where possible and the Inbox/Outbox on your desk is just one more set of places where you can simplify and boost your productivity at the same time, especially if you’re not using these boxes properly.

How do you know if you’re not using them properly? If you’re accumulating things in your Inbox/Outbox and they don’t move very often, you’ve broken the system of what “in” and “out” are really supposed to mean. All you’ve done is given things a place to stop and stall.

An “In” box is meant to bring things in. These things are not meant to live there. They’re meant to come in and go back out again. Same for the Outbox. Information is meant to go in and then leave your office… not camp out forever.

If you’re using your Inbox and Outbox properly, the good for you. This article is for everyone else out there who’s turned their In and Out boxes into “Accumulation Stations.”

Years ago, I remember working with a busy real estate client who had an Inbox on her desk anchored in place by a stack of papers and files about 5 inches high. As we were working together I realized she was using that “Inbox” for things she didn’t want to make decisions on.

You could be treating your Inbox the same way, where you glance at the information waiting for you, but then put it back in the Inbox… for later. But later never comes does it? And you’ve just created one more thing for your to-do list (“Clear out overflowing Inbox and Outbox”) and you might even have to set aside a chunk of time to go through it, when, instead, you could have addressed things the day they came in, avoided accumulation and now you could be working on your top priorities or out having fun instead.

Accumulation Stations will grow if ignored for too long and they can weigh heavy on your mind, even if you don’t think they do. If you avoid reviewing your incoming information, you’re avoiding the decision-making process. If you don’t make decisions on your information, what tasks are you ignoring? What priorities are getting buried? What opportunities are already lost?

Every time I see my clients fall into this trap, I tell them to consider letting the Inbox and Outbox go for several reasons:

1. Changing your environment helps you create more productive thinking, habits and routines.

2. If you define an area – a specific spot on the way to the door – on your desk for outgoing information and you take things out every chance you get, you can just enjoy the open space on your desk without an Outbox.

3. If you define an area – a specific spot – on your desk for things that need decisions, that’s WAY more important than defining a space for incoming information and you’ll be more apt to allow time in your day to make those decisions.

4. When you commit to making decisions as soon as something shows up – or at least within the same day – you won’t lose things, information or opportunities, or hold on to too much “stuff.”

Choose “spots” on your desk for incoming and outgoing information – ones you can commit to and never deviate away from. If others ask where to put things, tell them to put stuff in a certain location on your desk or elsewhere or they can hand it to you if you’re there.

When you’re not in your office, people can put things on your chair or anywhere you direct them to. All you have to do is tell them where. And these are just a few popular choices. You decide what you want to see and do and then stick with it. Use it, trust it, and create a routine around it.

The benefits include your ability to enjoy making decisions faster and free up time to spend on priorities or personal time without feeling walled in by accumulating mail.

Yes… there’s a whole industry out there for Inboxes and Outboxes. But you don’t have to buy into them.

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If you’re interested in learning how to master your information and enjoy the freedom of working without “Accumulation Stations” in your office let me know. Taskology™ can help. Get started today.