Managing Your Email Distractions

I ran a workshop last week and one of the topics that came up during our talk on distractions, was managing your email and email etiquette. Emails can be a great time waster and provide a constant distraction throughout the day. If you're going to make the most of your day then one way to increase your productivity is to limit the amount of time you spend on emails.

One of the first things to do is make sure you’re setting both yours and your client’s/customer’s expectations. How quickly do you really need to respond to emails? Does your work require you respond immediately or can you wait a few hours or maybe even a couple of days? If necessary, set an autoresponder so that people who email you will automatically be notified that you’ve received their email and you will get back to them within a specified time.

Set aside time in your day to read and respond to emails. A quick scan will identify the important, urgent, reading and junk. Set a time limit, say 30 minutes at a time to go through and respond to emails that need a quick, instant response. Clear the rest of the action emails in the remaining time, without addressing any new emails. Leave those until next time, along with emails that require a longer response.

Filters are very useful for pre-sorting emails into different folders, so you can quickly see what’s important or filter out reading and newsletters.

Only send an email to the person who actually needs to read it and make sure that if you need it actioning you’re clear about what needs to be done and when – don’t leave assumptions open to mis-interpretation. Don’t ‘cc’ every person you can think of, only include people that need to read the email.

Email is not 100% guaranteed to get where it’s going. Especially with spam filters getting more and more efficient/aggressive/ selective you can’t be sure that your email has been delivered. There can also be a time delay in hitting send and it turning up in the recipient’s inbox. Due to vagaries of mail servers and technology and email may take a few hours to get to it’s destination. If it’s urgent – pick up the phone.

Oh and switch off that email alert.

Less Is More

If you’ve got too much to do and not enough time in which to do it all, try doing less.

It’s all very well, trying to cram more into our busy lives and using our time more efficiently – after all that’s what I spend most of my time doing – helping people to use their time more effectively but it’s always worth taking that step back and actually letting some things go.

Some people have so much on their plate, it’s no wonder they never have a moment to themselves – numerous hobbies, activities, parental responsibilities, socialising, family commitments, charity work, PTA on top of working or running a business.

The most important thing, is to actually decide where and how you want to spend your time. In order to become really efficient with your time, you may actually need to start doing less.

Look at all the roles you fulfil in your life and where you spend your time. What are your priorities? Not just in your business but in your personal life - parent, partner, business owner, friend and family member.

Another way to do less – is to get someone else to do more. Know what it is that needs doing and then delegate part of your workload out to someone else.

If doing the accounts doesn’t rock your boat, get a book-keeper. If you don’t want to spend your precious free time on housework or in the garden, hire a cleaner or gardener – a couple of hours a week will make all the difference and will be well worth the outlay, leaving you more of your time to work on the part of the business that you really love or spend time with the people you care about.

Work smarter not harder.

Don't Knock It

It’s a subject that many people don’t want, or don’t know how to talk about. Mental Health.

We often talk about our physical health and there are scores of resources to help you look after your body - from gyms to fitness classes, activity clubs, personal trainers, nutritionists and physicians but how often do we think about or look after our mental health? Probably not until something goes wrong or we finally recognise the symptoms of stress and depression or in the worst case, suffer a mental breakdown.

Modern day life is full of stress. One person’s stress is another person’s easy day at the office and we know only too well that depression can affect anyone, rich or poor, young or old. Being rich and successful is no guarantee that you’ll never suffer from depression. You only have to look at the celebrity pages to see that depression can affect us all.

As a nation, we tend to ignore mental health issues with the attitude of "pull yourself together" or adopting a "stiff upper lip" and ignoring it. However, although you can’t see it and the symptoms and underlying causes may be more difficult to identify, mental health is just as important as your physical health.

If you’ve never suffered from depression, you’ll know someone who has. One in four people have or will suffer from mental health at one time or another. Most symptoms tend to be shrugged off in the same way you ignore the symptoms of a common cold. Left untreated they can turn into something more serious and in a work environment can lead to long-term periods of absence and sickness – not good if you’re running your own business.

Learn to recognise the symptoms of stress or depression, so that you can see it in yourself and others. Just a few of these are: disturbed sleep, changes in mood, lack of energy, tiredness, poor concentration, low self-esteem, changes in appetite, increased drinking and smoking, irritability, negative thoughts.

Look after yourself mentally. Build yourself a support system to help you cope. Find someone you can talk to about how you’re feeling. Ask for help if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Focus on one-step at a time and don't take on too much. Get a different perspective on a stressful situation. Find time to relax and exercise and make sure you’re eating healthily. Take time out.

You can find out more here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/mental_health/

Get Rich - Start Young

How would you like to be free of financial worries and not tied to your job or the work you do?

Of course you would. Well, there’s one way you can achieve this that could enable you to become a millionaire and no, I’m not about to start plugging the latest get rich scam!

This way takes time but it’s possible and far more likely to happen than some of the other ways you could earn a million. Having said that, in all your working years there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll have earned close to a million by the time you retire. Unfortunately, not all at once and you’ll have had to work pretty hard in order to achieve that.

However, there’s an easier way. Well, at least if you’re prepared to spend a fair amount of time but with relatively little effort and just a bit of common sense.

What is it?

Simple. Start saving … NOW! The sooner you start the better. You still need to work but if you can, save at least 10% of your income and put it away into a high interest account and most importantly – DON’T TOUCH IT. Do this as soon as you receive your salary and you won't notice it. Increase the amount you save each time you get a pay rise and your savings pot will grow faster.

Once you’ve got into the savings habit use those savings to start investing. Preferably something tax-free like an ISA, then you’ll be growing something that could be worth a not inconsiderable amount of money within a few years. Yes, the value of stocks and shares can go up and down but even with two stock market crashes in recent years the overall trend is upwards, so if you’re in it for the long-term (which is what it’s all about) you will make money - unless your very unlucky or just going for the short-term rewards.

The earlier you start saving, the longer you have to see your investment grow and the more money you’re likely to make. As long as you’re reinvesting the interest you make. It’s all due to the wonderful nature of compounding. (It's the same reason your debts get bigger and bigger.) Even saving £100 a month over 25 years (yes, that is a long time) you could earn close to £100,000 for not doing an awful lot and that’s not something to be sniffed at. Don't believe me - take a look here.

If you want to become an even smarter saver and investor – take full advantage of your annual ISA allowance. If your company offers a Share Option Scheme and you plan to be with them for a while, they're definitely worth investing in.

Once you’ve developed a good portfolio of investments – at some point in the future (give it 20 years) you’ll be able to start living off the income if you want to. That's why you need to start as soon as you can!

OK, this is a fairly simple view but it’s also not something beyond most of us. Saving and Investing is a tried and tested way to achieve financial wealth – even if you’re not able to put away hundreds of pounds every little helps and from tiny acorns … Achieving that million may not be such an impossible dream.

I’m NOT an expert, so make sure you discuss any financial decision with someone who is - an Independent Financial Advisor or at the very least your Bank Advisor.

If you want to check your current Money Habits and start on the road, get a copy of my FREE checklist by sending a blank email to mmtmintro@aweber.com and you'll also get the first chapter of my More Money e-book to read.