An Easy Process to Simplify Your Email

“Do we have to have this meeting”? How many times over the last 10 years have you made that statement? Probably countless times. You were surely justified. Most meetings waste time and money because they are called for the wrong reasons. The wrong people are invited to the meeting; too many of those people just want to hear themselves talk; the meetings drag on forever; and worse, either no decisions are made, or if they are, they are never enacted. Meetings are torture!

In my corporate days, I worked for a Fortune 100 that imposed so many meetings on the staff that they may have violated human rights treaties. Meetings were unproductive, mind-numbingly boring, seldom addressed relevant issues, typically brought forth no decisions, rarely produced follow-up actions and absolutely never ended on time. They were brutal.

So how can you avoid those pitfalls? Simple planning will do the trick. The first, and greatest, meeting killer is the lack of a clear purpose. As the meeting convener, you must identify the meeting goals and be able to articulate why the goals are important to those who will attend.

The second meeting killer is the agenda. The agenda should reflect the meeting purpose. A meeting agenda provides a framework to define key issues; discuss and analyze those issues; and resolve issues through decisions, strategies, action plans and follow-up.

It is critical for the convener to invite the right people to the meeting. Identify the stakeholders and decision makers and schedule a convenient meeting date and time frame needed to work through the agenda. Email relevant background materials in advance, for participant review.
Encourage participation from all attendees. Do not allow anyone to “hog the floor” or behave disrespectfully by interrupting, attacking or immersing themselves in texting, checking emails or other dysfunctional behavior.

The meeting convener is responsible for ensuring good behavior and establishing an atmosphere of positive energy and thoughtful dialogue that will promote problem solving and sound decision making. The convener should also make the pace of the meeting flow by moving through agenda items and should adjourn the meeting on time.

Lastly, the convener should review all decisions reached and actions planned; confirm who will take ownership of those activities; establish an accountability follow-up schedule; and document all in meeting notes that are sent to participants in a timely fashion.

This meeting is now adjourned!

Kim L. Clark is the Founder and Principal of Polished Professionals Boston, a business development consulting firm. Kim is a certified meeting facilitator. For more information, visit her website at www.polishedprofessionalsboston.com or email her at polishedprofessionals@verizon.net. You may also find Kim on LinkedIn. An Easy Process to Simplify Your Email19964An Easy Process to Simplify Your EmailCombing through my emails, I find that I receive four main types:

  • Junksolicitations, spam, and worse
  • Emails that call for an action or a response from me
  • Emails I’d like to read or refer to later. These don’t require any kind of response or action on my part.
  • Emails that are hanging fireI’m waiting for a response from someone else, or waiting for someone else to take an action before I respond to the email.

    • I’m guessing that your inbox looks pretty much like mine. You know what to do with the junk: delete it immediately. As for theaction messages, respond to them right away if you can.

    Some messages require an action but not an immediate one. You could create a folder titledWarm Action for them. (But don’t let that folder go cold! Schedule a weekly appointment with yourself to go into that folder and take care of those warm actions.)

    Store the emails you want to read or refer to later in a “To Read” folder.

    Emailsin waiting go into a Waiting for Response folder. (You’ll need to check that folder once or twice a week, of course, so you can follow up with the senders and anyone else involved. Schedule a reminder in your calendar.)

    And clear out your inboxI mean have everything gone from itby the end of each business day.

    And remember–

    • Use your delete button a lot.
    • Forwards are optional. Don’t feel obligated to respond, or to even read them. A forward you might like to read later goes into your “To Read” folder.
    • Never put hot emails–messages that require an action or response– in your “To Read” folder.
    • Respond to personalized emails right away.
    • Stop responding when an interchange has served its purpose.

    About the Author

    Heidi DeCoux is the publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine and is a speaker, productivity coach and professional organizer. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by simplifying their homes & schedules. For more info and to receive her FREE Home Organization e-Solutions Kit, which features the fast & easy way to get and stay organized forever, visit www.ClearSimpleLiving.com.