The most effective task and email workflow, ever.
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The document discusses an effective email and task management workflow emphasizing the importance of organizing emails into categorized sections and processing them efficiently. It advocates for using Todoist for tracking tasks and integrating it with Gmail, as well as adopting daily productivity techniques like the Pomodoro method. The author highlights that optimizing productivity is a journey, encouraging readers to focus on action rather than over-analyzing their methods.
The most effective task and email workflow, ever.
- 1. The Most Effective Task and Email Workflow, Ever. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 2. Let’s Dig In If you have no framework in place for yourself or company, then this one can be an effective one to start with. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 3. MY PHILOSOPHY ON EMAIL ©2017 Cody McLain
- 4. To start, I split my Gmail layout into three specific parts: ➢ Starred Emails ➢ Important Emails ➢ Everything else (unimportant emails) ©2017 Cody McLain
- 5. Email Processing Principles 1) If the email will take under 2 minutes then handle it right then, right there. 2) If you want to handle the email right after you process your inbox, but need to give it a few minutes of thought, then Star the email and process starred emails once they’re the only thing in your inbox. 3) Remember to update the Priority Inbox algorithm by marking emails via the yellow “Priority tag” next to each email in your inbox. This will separate relevant work emails from less valuable information. 4) Always start from the bottom up and don’t skip emails or “pick the easiest ones” as that’s a bad habit you don’t want. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 6. So basically you’re starting at the bottom, archiving emails once you’re done processing them. This could be simply archiving emails that require no action, replying to the email, or converting the email into a task. The goal is to have nothing in your inbox after processing your email. The other goal is to close your email or at the least, change your focus to your Todo program. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 7. My Todoist Workflow ©2017 Cody McLain
- 8. According to Todoist, since August of 2016, I’ve completed 2,640 tasks, which translates into: ● 563 tasks a month ● 140 tasks a week ● 23 tasks a day (6 days per week) ©2017 Cody McLain
- 9. Todoist is my todo framework of choice, I am fond of the Gmail integration which adds a button to Gmail that allows me to convert an email into a task. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 10. I start off my day in my Todoist inbox. The goal is to handle any items that would take under 2 minutes, then the rest of them should be considered on a variety of levels: ❖ Have I clearly defined the next-action associated with this task? ❖ How important is this task to me right now? ❖ Do I need to do the task, or can I delegate it? ©2017 Cody McLain
- 11. Finding the right due date A systematic way to alleviate this is by asking during my morning review if this particular task is something I need to do today. If it isn’t then, I’ll only reschedule it to a future day. An essential part of my workflow is never having anything overdue. Before I re-assign the due date, I ask myself “is this actually necessary to do today or even this week?” ©2017 Cody McLain
- 12. At the beginning of each week, I check my calendar for open spots and then schedule a 90-minute Pomodoro Session with myself each day. The goal is to be able to spend 25 minutes on 2-3 items that I know I’d be procrastinating on otherwise. The very simple idea of telling yourself that you’ll only spend X amount of time on something is stronger than most people give it credit for. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 13. There are a host of Pomodoro apps though, so don’t get too caught up in trying to find the “perfect” one. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 14. Note on Daily Tasks One method I use is requiring myself to go through a series of small habits when I sit down at my desk in the morning. I use an app called 30/30. This creates a time-pressure to do these items, and it’s premeditated by the cue of sitting down at my computer. I use it in a variety of ways, and surely you can find a way to implement your own foundational habits when you are at the computer or any place else. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 15. Remember that optimizing your productivity is a journey that’s a part of work itself. You’ll learn more about yourself by simply doing good work instead of obsessing over how you’re working. ©2017 Cody McLain
- 16. Want to read more? If so, you’ll love this http://www.codymclain.com/ Here are some of the things you’ll find there: ★ How to be more productive and become a master of your daily habits ★ How to grow an online business and the challenges you’ll face ★ Workflows for using software with your computer and your business ©2017 Cody McLain