Case Study: Finally, An Updated Time Management System
My day is filled with constant streams of email, task, and project management. I have probably spent over 50 hours studying books, articles, systems, blogs (and everything else under the sun) trying to master the complex art of email and task management. I always felt that there must be an easier way to utilize Outlook, but each new system I tried left me initially excited but subsequently disappointed when I realized that the approaches were missing a key ingredient and didn’t align with the nature of my work. Initially, all the approaches and systems seemed very good in theory, but I realized they were only effective for people who received smaller amounts of email a day (e.g., 20-30 emails a day) and worked on very few projects at a time. I often send and receive over two hundred emails a day (many dealing with different projects), so these strategies fell apart after a few hours due to the amount of email I was processing.
When I attended one of Paul’s programs at a conference in April, I was immediately intrigued because he was as compulsive as I was about efficiency and systems. He had faced many of the challenges and frustrations I had faced regarding email and task management, but he had figured out some really good solutions that I had never come across yet, despite reading all of the best-selling books and blogs on this subject.
After taking Paul to lunch later that day and grilling him on his QuiteSpacing® methodology, particularly as it pertains to Outlook inbox management, I walked away with euphoric feeling. FINALLY, I had met somebody who not only understood both the conceptual challenges that people have with email management, but also the technical solutions. For two hours, we geeked out on ways to customize Outlook to allow for quick processing of email, organization of folders, and hosts of other shortcuts and customizations. Although the nature of the conference had to do largely with legal recruiting, the hands-down highlight was learning Paul’s system.
It has been over three months since I met Paul and am pleased to say that his methods have stood the test of time. Efficiently managing my email will always be an evolving art, but his strategies, tricks, and shortcuts have stayed with me and I use them each day, many times each hour. I am able to process and fly through my email in a way that was previously unimaginable.
If you can relate to anything I have mentioned, you would be very well served to consult with Paul. Like me, if you incorporate what you learn, you will be thanking him under your breath several times each day.
© 2011, Paul H. Burton. All rights reserved.
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