Have you ever experienced that sinking feeling of dread just before you open your e-mail after being away a few days?  Do you cringe when you see hundreds of new messages waiting to be sorted through and needing a response? Yes, we all have.

In my case it’s even worse because before I left, my inbox already had hundreds of emails –mostly read– but left to linger. Although I’ve tried many organizing methods, my email continues to overwhelm me.  Today,  I’m sharing the latest technique I’m testing out:  email “triage“.

For the uninitiated Wikipedia defines “triage” as a medical term referring to a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition so as to treat as many as possible with limited time and resources”.

I first applied the “triage” concept while taking a certification exam requiring me to answer hundreds of questions in four hours.  The technique advised you to first answer all the easy/known questions, then mark the ones you knew but required some work, and lastly tackle the questions that were most difficult.

Like the medical definition implies, the underlying “triage” principle is to prioritize, focus your energy, not get sidetracked, do the easiest and quickest first, and leave the hardest for last.

So, if we applied those principles to “email triage” this is what it looks like:

First.  Go through your inbox and without opening delete everything that’s junk or obviously irrelevant.    At this point, resist the temptation to open emails that pique your interest. Stay focused!

Second.  Now, start reading the first few lines of each mail and prioritize and mark (or flag) the ones requiring your swift response vs. those that can wait or will take longer (different flag).   The goal is  to have 2 flag categories: quick/urgent vs. longer/can-wait.

Beware, I cheated and tried responding to the “quick emails”  during the process, (instead of only flagging) but found myself getting distracted  (and getting additional replies) and was unable to finish the flagging stage of the process.  Lesson, stick to flagging before responding or you won’t get to the end and won’t see the big picture of what’s truly in your inbox.

Tried this or something similar? Do have email shortcut techniques to share?

© Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com