Product Management Productivity Tip: Mastering Email
The first productivity - killing topic we will talk about is Email
Even though I can't see or hear you I imagine there's a big groan when we talk about email. I get 120-140 emails a day. If you don't have a system for email it will overwhelm you and break your spirit. I handle email with a number of tactics.
First, I make an absolute commitment to myself to not continuously process (i.e. read, respond and react) email throughout the day. Notice I said process and not "check." I process email three times a day. I come in a few minutes early just to do this, uninterrupted, in the morning. Then I process it right after lunch and then again at the end of the day. I use a Blackberry with email access to check for urgent messages and changed or cancelled meetings and prune my messages along the way. If there's something that's absolutely critical, I'll address it but I am careful to not fall into the trap of falling into constant email fire drills. Each processing session takes approximately 15 minutes, and I try to limit my email work to less than an hour a day.
