Did you know that how you manage your inbox says a lot about you? For example, “…if you keep your inbox full rather than empty, it may mean you keep your life cluttered in other ways,” says psychologist Dave Greenfield, who founded the Center for Internet Behavior in West Hartford, Conn.

Often, I would walk by someone’s desk and notice that he or she seemed to have thousands of unanswered e-mails. I can remember feeling inadequate; as in–I’m not important or popular enough to be getting all of that mail.

But then I realized that those with the over-stuffed inbox could be “e-procrastinators”…making the decision to deal with old e-mail tomorrow or the next day…similar to those who leave bills unopened for months and months.

I answer every e-mail — that may have to do with my need to be liked. I also have a very neat in-box…because I can’t bear chaos and clutter. (why then is my sweater drawer in such disarray?)

Regardless of what type of e-mail profile under which we fall, the bottom line is that an organized inbox can only help our productivity.

Here are some logical tips from organizational experts: Marilyn Paul, author of It’s Hard To Make A Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys, a book for the chronically disorganized, says –

• Pare down an inbox by moving e-mail into folders by need or follow-up
• Once a week, set aside time for inbox housekeeping
• Use the inbox alphabetizing feature, which organizes all e-mail by sender (I’m trying that one immediately)

Christina Cavanaugh, author of Managing Your Email: Thinking Outside The Box (heh, I get it…) says:

• Simply delete the oldest 9,000 notes (9,000! who has that many?)

When you think about it, if you compare your in-box to your kitchen, would you want all of that garbage lying around?

Good luck and sometimes, just say no…and don’t answer your mail.

Material compiled from Wall Street Journal article.

Post from: Blisstree

E-mail Housekeeping.

As Baby Boomers and generations X and Y continue to inhabit and compete for the same positions, promotions and benefits in the work force — we now have a diversity stew that is becoming very difficult to manage. The grumbling about salaries, flex time, dress codes, parents’ rights and a whole myriad of ideologies is loud and getting louder:

The authors of Generations At Work cite some real doozies:

• “A hiring bonus! Wet behind the ears and he wants a hiring bonus! At his age, I was just grateful I had a job.” Or “So I told my boss, ‘If you’re looking for loyalty, buy a dog.”‘ Or “He asks me,” ‘Do you have an e-mail address?’ I felt like telling him, ’since you were in diapers, buddy!”‘

Sound familiar? As if human resouces specialists don’t have enough on their plate, now through education and communication, they must address the fact that at no other time in our history have we had so many and such different generations working together.

I, for one, am so glad I never had to work for someone younger than myself. Why? Because as a boomer, I subscribe to the “Xers as greedy and lazy” school of biased thought. And they probably see me as obsessive and single-minded.

What should be done? According to the authors of Generations At Work, we should “get a portrait” of each generation: learn their values, assets, abilities and work ethics. Get curious about the events that shaped Baby Boomers’ lives: Woodstock, the Cold War, the Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation movements…and for Xers it was Watergate, PCs, the Challenger disaster and the Internet.

And keep in mind there is another group about to enter your space: NeXters (1980-2000). As web builders, touch-typists, critics of older generations’ computer skills, and boasters of having brought the word “whatever” into our everyday lexicon…there is a lot we must learn about them so that we are not tempted to give them a big old slap when they come to work.

Post from: Blisstree

Generation Flap At Work.