Hi there. I'm Graham Allcott. Every Sunday, I send out an upbeat idea for the week ahead, directly to your inbox.
Hi Reader, Welcome to this week’s Rev Up for the Week, where each Sunday at 4.05pm I deliver you a productive or positive idea for the week ahead. Last week I was coaching some folks on ‘inbox zero’ and some of the ‘Ninja Email’ principles from How to be a Productivity Ninja. As well as being what I coach, it’s what I’ve practiced myself for the last 15 years or so. There are huge benefits to the approach: when you’re not keeping hundreds of emails in your inbox like they’re your pets, you’re much less likely to miss stuff. And having a sense of clarity and control reduces stress - you’re safe in the knowledge that whilst there might be still things to do, or things you want to spend more time reading, there aren’t crucial things where you’re about to drop the ball. That said, I think the idea of ‘inbox zero’ is a bit misunderstood, and here’s why. Email (like Teams or Slack or Whatsapp) is ultimately just a medium - a way to exchange information. The point of inbox zero is not to become good at email. The point of inbox zero is to get out of email, to make space for what matters. The real work we do – the stuff that makes a difference or makes us famous in our jobs – is almost always the stuff that happens outside of our inboxes. Inbox zero is simply an approach that helps us close down the inbox more often and with a bit more confidence. So if the goal is to get out of the inbox and do brilliant work, what does that mean in terms of where to spend our time on inbox management? Well here are a few quick Do’s and Don’ts that I try to stick to:
Have a great week, Graham PS – did you know, my company Think Productive can come in and help your whole team to get their inboxes to zero, or master Microsoft Teams? If you want to know more, hit reply and I’ll send you some details. It’s a cost-effective way to reduce stress and boost productivity in just three hours (and tackling real work while you learn, too). |
Productivity and Kindness at work
Hi there. I'm Graham Allcott. Every Sunday, I send out an upbeat idea for the week ahead, directly to your inbox.
Hi Reader, I was at a networking event this week (my first in many years!), when someone asked me what I did. I said I was the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja. "Wow", she said, "I've read your book!". We had a brief chat about what I was working on now, including the new book coming soon (October - and you'll hear about it here first!), and I mentioned how proud I am of what I'm about to share with the new book, and that when I occasionally read back snippets from 'Productivity...
Hi Reader, It’s often said that time is our most precious resource. I don’t think that’s true. I think attention is our most precious resource. Attention is a more limited resource than your time. Your productivity and indeed your mental wellbeing depends heavily on how you choose to ‘spend’ your attention. In an average day, you will have 3 different levels of attention: 1. Proactive attention: This is where you are fully focused, alert, in the zone, and ready to make your most important...
Hi Reader, Welcome to this week’s Rev Up for the Week, where each Sunday I deliver you an idea to help supercharge your work week. I moved house recently. It was my first house move in nearly a decade. I’d forgotten how much there is do, and how it disrupts little habits that you didn’t even know you had. For example, in the new house, I no longer eat bagels, I sit down and just relax more, I've stopped playing chess or looking at my iPad, I’ve taken some pleasure and even joy in tidying up...