1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations.
At the end of each week, I’ve been sharing an idea from Tynan’s book Superhuman by Habit about how to install specific, positive habits into your life.
So far, we’ve covered:
- Building positivity
- Being compassionate
- Eating healthy
- Improving sleep
- Learning mindfulness
- Working out
- Seeking out masterpieces
- Writing every day
- Traveling to unusual countries
- Beating procrastination by starting work earlier
- Beating procrastination by planning when you’re stuck
- Beating procrastination by rating your day
- Keeping your home clean with two daily habits
2: “There are a number of extremely complicated systems for staying on top of email,” Tynan writes in Superhuman by Habit.
“Most of them probably work, too, except that integrating a complex system into your life is difficult and is unlikely to actually become a habit before you give up on it.”
Touché.
The truth is, staying on top of your email does not have to be difficult.
There’s a simple two-step solution. First, when you read an email for the first time, decide if it needs a reply.
There are two ways to do this. When you read an email for the first time, immediately decide whether it requires further action.
You can either delete all those emails that don’t require action, or flag or star those that do.
The second step is to commit to setting aside a regular time each day to go through these emails and either reply, take action, or delete/remove the star.
For me, step two is the key. I’ve built a daily habit, and now a streak, of getting my inbox to zero.
As the author Jack Canfield once said, “Being committed 100% is easier than a 99% commitment.”
The idea is to decide once, rather than debate the decision every day.
Two more tips that work for me: Create a “Read” folder and automatically route newsletters and other content you follow there. And unsubscribe from or block senders you no longer want to hear from.
3: That’s it.
You can still respond to important emails immediately. Just star them first, then delete or remove the star once you’ve replied.
“This gets you into the habit of deciding up front if email is going to be acted on or not, which is the important part,” Tynan writes.
“The nice thing about this habit,” he says, “is that because the deciding is decoupled from the acting, there’s never a good reason not to star.”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: How much mental energy do you spend repeatedly deciding what to do with emails you’ve already read?
Action: Starting today, decide what to do with every email the first time you open it. Delete or archive those requiring no action, star the rest, and schedule a daily time to clear your starred messages.
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