Where to Keep Email You’ve Deferred (NOT in Your In-Box) – ASAR
The main idea for you to keep in mind is that you are consciously and very deliberately DECIDING to DEFER. So, now, here’s the question. What do you do with those emails that you’ve deferred?
What most people do, unfortunately, is leave them in their inbox, which is a poor solution. These emails just pile up there right along with all the new ones.
Here’s an alternative idea for you: create a folder in your email labeled ASAR, which stands for As Soon As Reasonable. Consider this your action folder for emails. When you are processing your in-box and can’t delete or handle the email right then, but I do intend to do something with it, then put it into the ASAR folder. In my case, the goal is never to have more than a screen-full of emails in the ASAR folder. To keep it that way, you need to set aside time EVERY DAY to have ASAR time. For me, some days, it’s 30 minutes and some days it’s more – especially when it’s veering dangerously close to exceeding the ‘one-screen-full guideline’ that I’ve set for myself. You definitely don’t want your ASAR folder to become a black hole.
Keep in mind that when you defer an email, it’s a deliberate and reasoned decision you have made. By using the ASAR and the WF folders (which you’ll read about tomorrow), your deferred emails aren’t deferred too long. You always want to stay in the productive mode – with email and in the other areas of your personal and professional life.
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(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!
Tags: action, email, inbox, overwhelm, Productivity
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