Where Most People Vacation: Wednesdays With Wendy

Hey Everyone!

I hope you are having a great week and are ready for another
Wednesdays With Wendy NEWSLETTER!
As my friend/client, I value your opinion! So, please let me know what you think! All comments and constructive criticisms are welcome!

If you recall, in the last newsletter I started the "Home Organizing" series and shared some helpful tips and ides on how to get rid of all that closet clutter and start your new and improved, organized life!

The topic I will be sharing with you today is
"Conquering E-mail Clutter!"

Please feel free to email me with your own home organizing tips and I will share them in the next post!

Tips on How to Conquer E-mail Clutter-
Turn your inbox from cluttered to clean

Email has been beneficial to us all in many ways. It's a wonderfully quick way of delivering a message. It helps us to
answer on our own time--no telephone tag, or waiting on hold. Plus, it's extremely cost effective. You can basically send
email to friends and family worldwide, and pay nothing more than a monthly fee.

However, there is a price to pay. Just like paper clutter, email could easily turn into virtual clutter. Now, in addition to having a mountain of paper, many people have an enormous amount of email to plow through each day. Here are a few simple tips to help keep it under control.

1. Check and manage email on a daily basis. Schedule two or three consistent time periods each day to go through your email inbox. Get rid of as much email as you can each day. If possible, don't go to bed at night before clearing out your email inbox.

2. Take action. Just as it's easy to paper shuffle, it's also simple to 'email shuffle.' Try to take action on each email you open.

First, skim the subject lines and immediately get rid of email that you don't need. A high percentage of email can be deleted without ever opening it.

Second, open each message one by one. If there are any that can be answered immediately, do so. Usually, the message can then be deleted. Be brutal here. Again, most messages do not need to be kept after the action has been completed.

If you 'truly' need to save a particular message, file it in a computer folder. A computer folder is simply an area in your email program where you can 'file' email messages into folders' so you don't have to print them out, but they're easily accessible when you need them.

Categorize these folders, just like you would with paper folders. For instance, if you like referring to some regular newsletters you get, make a computer folder for each of them. The name of each folder should be the name of the newsletter.

3. Take advantage of filters. Some email programs come with an option which allows you to filter your messages. Check with your email provider to determine if you have this option and how to take advantage of it. There are two common reasons that you might want to use your filtering capabilities.

a. Quickly storing emails you want to reference later: Let's say you get an email report every day from a co-worker that lists some numbers that you may need to reference, but you don't have to look at on a daily basis. You can filter email from that particular person directly into a computer folder. Then, when the person sends you the email report, it will automatically be moved into the folder you have set up.

b. Quickly getting rid of email you don't want: I recently was getting email messages, from a specific email address, that were unsolicited. After determining that it was impossible to get off this list, I decided to filter any email from that particular person right into my 'deleted mail' folder. Now, I never have to deal with it. Very often, you can filter by different variables, such as sender, subject line, messages with attachments, and so on.
4. Stories, jokes and email hoaxes. Stories, jokes and email hoaxes are constantly being forwarded throughout the Internet. Some people really enjoy receiving these types of messages. Others don't have the time for them. If you don't have the time to receive such email, tell the senders that you'd prefer not to receive them anymore. It's not being rude. Simply tell the person that you're happy to receive a personal note from them, but you don't have time for the other types of email.

5. Don't stay on lists that are not helping you. Be particular about the newsletter lists you sign up for and remain on. The lists you should be on are the ones that benefit you in some shape or form.

6. Print with caution. If you like printing a particular newsletter to read from your comfy chair in another room, that's fine. However, be careful about printing every single email you get. You don't want to double the problem by duplicating your email clutter into paper clutter. Remember, you can store email in folders on your computer. Yes, they'll take up some room on your computer, but at least they won't begin to clutter your home and your office too.
Introducing The "Four D Model"-

Use the "Four D's for Decision Making" Model

The "Four D's for Decision Making" model (4 D's) is a valuable tool for processing e-mail, helping you to quickly decide what action to take with each item and how to remove it from the Inbox.

Decide what to do with each and every message

How many times have you opened, reviewed, and closed the same e-mail message over and over? Some of those messages are getting lots of attention but very little action. It is better to handle each e-mail message only once before taking action—which means you have to make a decision as to what to do with it and where to put it. Under the 4 D's model, you have four choices:

1.	Delete it
2.	Do it
3.	Delegate it
4.	Defer it

DELETE IT

Generally you can delete about half of all the e-mail you get. But some of you shudder when you hear "delete." You're hesitant to delete messages for fear you might need them at some point. That's understandable, but ask yourself honestly: What percentage of information that you keep do you actually use?

If you do use a large percentage of what you keep, then what you're doing is working. But many of you are keeping a lot more than you use. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you decide what to delete:

1.	Does the message relate to a meaningful objective you're currently working on? If not, you can probably delete it. Why hang on to information that doesn't relate to your main focus?
2.	Does the message contain information you can find elsewhere? If so, delete it.
3.	Does the message contain information that you will refer to within the next six months? If not, delete it.
4.	Does the message contain information that you're required to keep? If not, delete it.

DO IT (in less than two minutes)

If you can't DELETE IT, then decide, "What specific action do I need to take?" and "Can I DO IT in less than two minutes?" If you can, just DO IT.

There is no point in filing an e-mail or closing an e-mail if you can complete it in less than 2 minutes. Try it out—see how much mail you can process in less than 2 minutes. I think you will be extremely surprised and happy with the results. You could file the message, you could respond to the message, or you could make a phone call. You can probably handle about one third of your e-mail messages in less than two minutes.

DELEGATE IT

If you can't DELETE IT or DO IT in two minutes or less, can you DELEGATE IT?

If you can delegate it, do it right away. You should be able to compose and send the delegating message in about two minutes. Once you delegate the action, delete the original message or move it into your e-mail reference system.

DEFER IT

If you cannot DELETE IT, DO IT in less than two minutes, or DELEGATE IT, then the action required is something that only you can accomplish and that will take more than two minutes. Because this is your dedicated e-mail processing time, you need to DEFER IT and deal with it after you are done processing your e-mail. You’ll probably find that about 10 percent of your e-mail messages have to be deferred.

There are two things you can do to defer a message: turn it into an actionable task or turn it into an appointment. If you're using Outlook 2003, you can DEFER e-mails with actions by turning the e-mail into a task on your Task List. Name the task to clearly state what action is required so that you don't have to reopen the e-mail message. The result is a clearly defined list of actions in your task list that you can prioritize and schedule to complete on your Calendar.

Do it daily

Using the 4 D's model on a daily basis makes it easier to handle a large quantity of e-mail. Our experience shows that on average, people can process about 100 e-mail messages an hour. If you receive 40 to 100 messages per day, all you need is one hour of uninterrupted e-mail processing time to get through your Inbox. Our statistics show that of the e-mail you receive:

•	50 percent can be deleted or filed
•	30 percent can be delegated or completed in less than 2 minutes
•	20 percent can be deferred to your Task List or Calendar to complete later

Of course, if you have a backlog of hundreds of messages, it will take time to get to the point where your daily routine keeps you up to date. It's important to get that backlog down, so I would suggest setting chunks of time aside to work through it. Then you can really enjoy processing your messages every day using the 4 D's.

I hope that you will find this information helpful for your own E-mail Organizing!
Please e-mail me at Wendy@SeaCoastRealty.com if you would like to share your tips, ideas, or success stories!

CARTUS RELOCATION - Referral Network
Did you know that I can help your family and friends buy or sell real estate
anywhere in the United States!
Since Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty is affiliated with CARTUS- the world's largest relocation network -
I can connect your loved ones with a relocation expert ANYWHERE in the country!
So, the next time you know someone thinking of buying or selling, CALL ME!
I'll make sure they receive the same courteous and professional service I provide for my clients!

I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter! Have a FUN and SAFE weekend!
As always, if I can help with any of your real estate needs, please don't hesitate to call or email!

Cell - (910) 279-3983
Office - (910) 202-3627
Fax - (910) 795-4268
Wendy@SeaCoastRealty.com
WendyInWilmington.com