Getting to Inbox Zero with one hand

28% of an information worker’s time is spent reading and answering email, that is 13 hours per week – that’s a lot of your and my life in an inbox. That problem is more acute for people who spend a lot of time on the road. Mobile devices are good for checking an inbox but terrible to craft a response that is clear and professional.

There are some great ways for dealing with email and making yourself more productive while at your desk. Some personal ones that I use are:

Inbox Zero, workplace social software and Skype

David Allen , author of “Getting Things Done”, has a clear piece of email guidance “I have a two-minute rule that says: If you determine an action can be done in two minutes, you actually should do it right then …”

That is my favourite part of the Inbox Zero idea, items that can be dealt with in under 2 minutes should be dealt with straight away. Everyone likes that feeling of knocking off items from their inbox, removing the clutter so you can get back to your real job.

But what about when you are running between meetings? How do you deal with those emails that are banking up when you are out of the office? I hate when I am on the road, doing a full day of work, only to have to return home and continue into the evening to deal with email. Everyone has slivers of time, this could be when you are in a taxi or waiting at a customer’s reception desk. Everyone knows that writing an email from these places is difficult and prone to miscommunication. There isn’t a wealth of information about how to maximise these periods of time.

That is why we have created Weply, a way that helps people get to inbox zero even if they are a time poor road warrior. Even if you only have one free hand. It allows users to respond to emails with short 30 second voice messages, it makes sure that those quick 2 minute tasks get done even when you literally only have 2 minutes to do them. More information about how it is done here. Weply can and should be used with a number of best practice methods of managing an email inbox. A few that are really useful are:

1. Designate a specific time to work through email when you are back at your desk.

2. Delete and archive as much as possible, don’t leave it hanging around in the wings.

3. Don’t switch between tasks as it takes a shocking 16 minutes to return to your primary task.

And remember, if you are replying to email from your phone, don’t feel that you are alone. Surprisingly, the number 1 used application on smartphones is email. It is normal to deal with correspondence on the road, we suggest that it is done as effectively as possible.

Paul from Weply