Is it possible to create a stress-free reentry from your vacation or time off?
Last month, Tom Cuthbert, Best Practice Chair and CEO coach for Vistage and Chairman of Sandler Sales, San Antonio was featured in the Fast Company article, How to handle your overflowing inbox when you get back from vacation.
When identifying the secrets of the most productive people, Cuthbert shares his tips for prioritizing and clearing out the overflowing inbox upon returning from your extended time off.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Set up rules in your inbox so that certain emails go into specific folders. For example, have your meeting invites or client messages sent to different folders so you can tackle emails by type and importance.
This way you can methodically clean out your inbox when you return.
WHEN YOU RETURN
Then when you’re back from vacation, set aside time to get caught up. It can help to set up a meeting with your team instead of having to wade through email threads.
This way you can communicate and get up to speed on everything that happened while you were out. Ask them to build topic lists to facilitate focused conversation.
Start by deleting the junk. “Chances are, some of the emails in your inbox are no longer relevant, especially if you took an extended period of time off, so go through and determine what you need to read and get caught up on,” says Cuthbert. “Prioritize responses.”
It can be tempting to spend a lot of time on email, but be aware of the value of your time, says Cuthbert. “Email can be a huge time-waster,” he says. “Think if your time would be better spent diving back into work on your first day back, as opposed to spending time digging through email.”
It's your turn. Leave a comment below to let us know how you conquer the email mountain.