Triple Constraints

One of the toughest challenges for a PM can be juggling multiple projects. You’re trapped on conference calls all day while your inbox becomes cluttered with emails from internal partners, vendors and clients discussing any number of active projects. If you let it get out of control, you could become the bottleneck in your own project.

A common approach is to keep your inbox empty by checking email throughout the day and making some immediate decisions on the ever-growing list. If you’ll never need the email, you delete it. If you can resolve the issue in a minute or two, you take action then delete it (or file it), etc. There are a few versions of this approach, commonly referred to as Inbox Zero. It’s better than complete inbox chaos, but I worry you lose some efficiency by not having immediate inbox access to relevant materials.

I recommend finding a middle ground. I use my inbox like a to-do list. Every item in there needs my attention. If it doesn’t need my attention, I file it away. So it’s never completely empty, but it is also free of clutter. Here are few tips:

• Multi-task and Take Action
  Don’t be afraid to let yourself get distracted. This is similar to Inbox Zero – but perhaps taking this one step further, I think you should multi task by checking email in meetings that don’t require your undivided attention. And if you are working on an important task that takes hours, force yourself to break away from time to time to check your email and resolve any issues that don’t require investigation or effort.
• Create a Filing System
  If I’ve read the email and I don’t need to take action on it, I’ll file it away in a project-specific subfolder. I never delete anything that might need to be referenced later. Emails can be an excellent resource for historical information on a project. File your emails in such a way that allows you to easily search your subfolders for key information.
• Use Email Flags
  If you can’t take immediate action on an email and you need it for future reference, keep it in your inbox and flag it. You can break out your flags by color so you can identify next steps at a glance. i.e. Red = top priority, Green = take action within a few days, Blue = file attachment that will be needed for reference in the near future. Set up the system so it is relevant for you.
• Clean House
  Using this system instead of a pure Inbox Zero approach will allow your inbox to build up after a few days. You’ll have immediate access to urgent materials because they are in your top level inbox, but you’ll also end up with some unnecessary items. That’s why you’ll need to clean up every few days. Go through your flagged emails and file away anything that you no longer need for immediate reference.

With this approach, you should be able to keep your inbox down to 10 items or so, each of which need your attention in the near future. You’ll be better organized, which will help you work more efficiently. And if you have any ideas or recommendations, please add them in the comments.

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