Skip to main content

Finish the day with an empty inbox

Most people use their email inbox incorrectly. It isn't a to do list, it isn't a calendar, it isn't a filing cabinet. Here's how I use my inbox and finish every day with 0 emails!

Firstly we need to rethink how we send emails:

1. Ideally speak in person.

No email sent, no email to reply to.

2. If you are sending a quick message or asking a small question, especially within your department/team you could make use of instant messaging e.g. Microsoft teams, WhatsApp, Google chats etc I think Adam Boxer uses this in his department.

3. If you have to send an email, make sure you only send it to those who need to see it, no whole school emails or CCing lots of people.

4. Include as much information as possible. Make it so that you shouldn't need to receive a reply or if you do it is only one email. Tell them what they need to do, by when and what finished looks like, be specific.

If arranging meetings, give a range of times to meet up and have the other person decide what works for them.

No more email conversations going back and forth between people!

Once you've changed your mindset on sending emails, next is the receiving part:

1. YOU DO NOT NEED MULTIPLE FOLDERS FOR EACH AREA IN YOUR EMAILS E.G. DEPARTMENT, WHOLE SCHOOL, MIDDLE LEADERS ETC.

I will make one exception. If you don't use a to do list you could have folders for bigger tasks in your email. I have previously used 2 folders: this week and this term, i.e. longer term tasks and medium term tasks. Tasks for the day stay in inbox and are deleted once completed.

2. Unsubscribe from everything that isn't adding value, find that pesky unsubscribe button at the bottom of emails and get rid.

3. If there are generic emails that are always sent to you that are unnecessary, add a rule to go straight to your bin e.g. daily canteen menu.

4. If it is a meeting or calendared event, add the information to your calendar, with a reminder if needed and delete the email. Add any extra information you need to the calendared event.

5. If it is a task you can complete quickly (5 minutes or so) just do it. Tick it off the list and delete the email. If it is a bigger task, add it to a to do list, I use Google tasks to keep track.

Obviously this can be a big shift for some people and it can be scary deleting emails. If in doubt, send it to the archive. Can be easily recovered via a search and gives you peace of mind that nothing is lost.


Popular posts from this blog

Literacy in Maths

I'm a Maths teacher, I teach numbers. Why is Literacy so important for me? Well….here's why: "Literacy is fundamental for success in school and later life. Students who cannot read, write and communicate effectively are highly unlikely to access the challenging academic curriculum in secondary school and are more likely to have poor educational outcomes across all subjects." (Link 3)  Unfortunately there are a lot of Maths teachers who believe (wrongly) that literacy is a thing that the English department do. They see it as a tick box for observations. Rather than being an essential component of students being able to learn maths.  -  So what does it look like in Maths? Answer the question: Blindle 4x + 6 Are you able to do it?  This is the challenge a lot of students face in Mathematics. Subject specific vocabulary can seem really confusing to a lot of students. Understanding what a keyword is asking of students is often the hardest part of a question and can hold s...
Read more

📝 Weekly Report #33

This week I listened to a really good podcast episode from Greg McKeown called Where am I wrong? In it he talks about a really effective method to have deeper discussions on what is important.  Write down/say the 3-5 issues/priorities you think there are as well as the cost/consequence of them. Then just simply ask where am I wrong? It starts the conversation off with the other person talking and getting their points across. You can then get that shared understanding about what needs to be done and why.  It got me thinking about other areas this could be useful for e.g. dealing with conflicts, leading departments/teams, pitching a new initiative. I am going to start doing this in some of these scenarios as I think we can have more productive conversations from it.  Have a listen to the episode here .  🔊 Listen: Alan Stein Jr on the Modern Wisdom podcast discussing high performance and overcoming stress. He talks about thinking like an athlete with your work and impr...
Read more

England v Wales: Who teaches Maths better?

England V Wales: Who teaches Maths better? Times are changing in Wales, there is a new Curriculum focus and in Maths there are 5 proficiencies that the government want to see. Here's my take as a new HOD crossing the border from England. The Welsh government have overhauled the curriculum and not just in Maths. They have identified key statements of what matters and laid out principles for progressing in each subject.  Maths in every country is the same though surely.... Well yes... we still focus on Number, Algebra, Geometry and Statistics. But also no....in Wales it is mandatory to use their 5 proficiencies to progress students in Maths. This isn't an explicit thing in England. The 5 proficiencies are: conceptual understanding, fluency, logical thinking, strategic competence and communication with symbols Lots of big words. But if you dive deeper into the detail that the Welsh government provides on each of them it is no different to what the NCETM in England recommend with t...
Read more