Here’s tips 7 - 9:
I am trying to model good emailing behavior:
If I can reply in person, I do instead of emailing back; I schedule meetings to resolve larger matters or bulk process smaller ones.
I try to be brief myself, and follow five sentences (Five Sentences) when I can. I “get to the point” in [...]
Here’s tip 6:
I triage my email.
I prioritize my email as more important using a few simple criteria:
The email has a useful subject line. I’ve started using
ACTION: for tasks I send to my direct reports
REQUEST: for tasks I send outside my department
MEETING: when [...]
Here’s tip 5:
I categorize and color code my email. I have five groups:
1 The Cabinet (the President, VPs, AVPs…)
2 DCs (other Department Chairs and Directors, as well as key people around the School)
3 Depart Staff (the Chair, Associates, Department Manager, and her assistant)
4 Students and everyone else
5 Emails from outside The School
I really can scroll [...]
Here’s tips 1 through 4:
I turned off the auto-notice in Outlook. This means I will not be distracted by popups and little sounds telling me there is a new problem until I am ready to focus on them. This really is Email Survival 101. (LifeHacker - Turn off Outlook Alerts)
I started to track my [...]
Part 1
My work week is pretty intense. It’s not that I am disorganized - anyone who knows me will tell you the exact opposite is true - rather, the workload itself has been impossible.
Last January I became the Interim Department Chair for a department of about 400 students, with one Associate Chair and a Department [...]
