How to Take Control of Your Day with One Simple Change

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• Do you ever feel like your day slips away as soon as you open your email in the morning? 
• Do you get to lunchtime and wonder where your morning went? 
• Are you struggling to get your important things done every day? 

Leading People is the podcast for leaders who want to consistently bring out the best in themselves and others.

These short One Simple Thing episodes have been created with recently appointed managers in mind so you can get off to a flying start as a leader.

And, with the ever-increasing demands of the modern workplace, we can all still learn new things.

If you're feeling challenged at work then I have a game-changing solution for you in this One Simple Thing episode.

And, I've even thrown in a bonus tip for you that can be effective in some situations.

So, tune in, test out this One Simple Thing and witness the transformation it can bring to your day and your leadership journey. 

Connect with me on LinkedIn, share your experiences, and subscribe for more insights that will empower you and those you lead.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to Leading People with me, gerry Marais, this week. It's One Simple Thing, where in each episode, I share a quick, actionable tip to help you bring out the best in yourself and others. One Simple Thing is created for young leaders, but hey, us older folks can still learn a thing or two. Ask my dog. He's learned a few new tricks recently. Here's a question for you have you ever opened your email first thing in the morning only to feel your day slip out of your control? Oh boy, yes, all the time. That's because, when you think about it, your email inbox is actually a tool for other people's priorities, not yours. When you let it set the tone for your day, you're giving away control of your time and focus. Oh my God, really yes, you're giving away your control. Who in their right mind does that? So here's one simple thing to try out tomorrow Don't check your email first thing in the morning. Instead, focus on your most important task, your MIT, or a priority you've planned the night before. Check out episode 64 of Leading People to learn more about your MIT. Why does this work? Because this keeps you in control of your agenda, not someone else's agenda controlling you. But I can hear you saying what about all those people who want me to respond to their emails? Yes, those guys. Okay, you have a point. I've even known people send an email to check whether you received their earlier email because you haven't responded yet.

Speaker 1: 2:17

If you have people like this in your orbit, then here's a bonus tip for you. Then here's a bonus tip for you Use an out-of-office message to inform people that you only process your emails a few times per day and you'll get to theirs when you do your processing. You could also add that, if their issue is extremely urgent, that they should call you. Thank you. In the first two years of using this type of out-of-office message, I received wait for it only three phone calls, and two of those were from the same person who was not a client. The other one was from a client who really needed my help and I was able to respond immediately and solve their problem. And no, it didn't affect business. Their problem, and no, it didn't affect business. You know most people can wait for your reply most of the time. However, here's a caveat If your job is primarily to respond to emails for example, you work in customer support, and responding to emails first thing in the day is your most important task, then you may not find the remainder of this tip so useful, or maybe you will, because one day you have a different job.

Speaker 1: 3:37

So when you do eventually check your email ideally mid to late morning I usually check mine around 10 o'clock I recommend that you batch process your emails using a simple three-step process Respond immediately if it's something that you can answer on the spot, flag emails for later that need a more comprehensive response. I recommend setting aside a specific time every day for these types of emails and more about this in a future episode and delete or archive anything irrelevant. I would say that I delete or archive 75 to 80% of my emails every day, every day. Wow, yes, this is because I've signed up for stuff, when I've downloaded something special and I'm not so interested in all their follow-up emails. What you'll find is, when you process emails like this, you actually spend less time on emails. When you do actually go through them, I find that if I have roughly 40 to 50 emails in my inbox and I often have more that I've processed them all within 10-15 minutes using this approach. Why? Because it's a focused, proactive activity rather than a reactive one rather than a reactive one. So, to conclude, adopting this one simple thing ensures you're managing your email and not letting it manage you, and it keeps your energy and focus where it belongs on what really matters.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Test this out for yourself. Notice how much more productive and in control you feel when your day starts with your priorities, not the priorities that others have put in your inbox. And that's another one Simple thing. Thanks for tuning in. Remember, small steps can lead to big changes. Test out this one simple thing and notice how it transforms your day. Let me know how you get on. Reach out on LinkedIn and connect with me. Mention the podcast and if you'd like to learn more One Simple Things, then subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast channel and follow our LinkedIn Leading People page. In our next episode of One Simple Thing, we'll explore another easy way to be a great leader by bringing out the best in yourself and those around you. And in between, you can check out one of my longer conversations with leading people about yes, you've guessed it, leading people. So until then, keep exploring and stay curious.