From the course: Productivity Tips: Taking Control of Email

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Read vs. unread email

Read vs. unread email

From the course: Productivity Tips: Taking Control of Email

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Read vs. unread email

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- Most email programs, if you glance at an email for just a second or two, will mark the email as read. Often these programs designate an email as read by switching it from bold to not bold. This feature creates poor productivity habits because it has the tendency to trick your mind into thinking that an email is resolved, at least in the short-term. Transition your thinking from red versus unread to in the inbox versus out of the inbox. Your goal is to reach absolute zero in your email inbox at least once per week, meaning all emails have been moved out of the inbox or deleted. If you follow the processing schedule that I recommend in my course on time management, you should have enough time to bring all your gathering points, not just email, to zero once per week. But, if you're in the habit of skipping over emails that have been marked as read, you may be missing out on the productivity boost and mental relief…

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