Summary: On this weeks episode of the podcast we talk about spinning the ministry plates (thats what mine looked like below). We also tear down the myth of Inbox Zero and learn how to tackle emails and still be productive in ministry. andnbsp; SHOW NOTES: 1. Turn off notifications and alerts as much as possible. - On my iPhone I turned off as many of those little red badges as I could. I no longer have them around for items that summon me to respond every minute of the day. I have no indicator of unread emails, Facebook posts, tweets, etc. I only have my text message notifications turned on because it s an easy to communicate with my wife throughout the day, but other than that I only check these other apps when I need to or want to. 2. Only process email when youre ready to respond. - I schedule 2-3 times a day for myself to process my inbox. At the start of the day I open up Gmail and start reading. I look for the most important ones first and go from there and I only allow myself a certain period of time to do so. If its actionable right away then I do it. If it needs to be turned into a task or a project, I forward it to Evernote or Things. If it needs to be delegated, its forwarded with a note attached with clear instructions. Any other actions happen fairly quickly. I typically do this as soon as I come in to the office, right before lunch, and at about 3 or 4pm. 3. Use the tools and apps to help you sort through email faster. - Here is a quick list of apps I use to help me clear the inbox quicker: Boomerang - This is actually a great app that works in Gmail. It allows you to schedule emails to be sent later, be reminded of emails you sent that havent been responded too, and gives you easy follow-up reminders. Bananatag - Its simply a read receipt app that lets you pick and choose which messages you want to keep track of. Did someone read your email? Did they click the link you sent? This keeps track of that stuff very easily. Rapportive - This is a great app that works in Gmail. It gives me a complete contact profile of everyone I email. On the side bar I can see any social media accounts attached to a particular email, receive emails we have exchanged with each other, and an area to keep quick notes for the next time we talk or message each other. Dispatch - This is my favorite iOS email app because it is SO multifunctional. Through this one app I can turn your email into a task in Things or Omnifocus or most any other to do app. I can also turn your email into a calendar item, Dropbox file, Evernote note, reminder, draft file, text message and much more. Mailbox - I tend to use this app more for my non ministry related email accounts. Mailbox allows you to dump email fast or move it to be dealt with in a few hours, the next day or the next week. Sanebox - This is the newest app Ive been trying out. Sanebox reads your emails and as it learns more about you, it learns where to stick your email. The important stuff goes in the inbox, and the stuff you need to check later goes in the SaneLater folder. Very handy app and I look forward to learning it some more. 4. Automate the Important - In ministry we tend to send out the same type of emails or dispense the same information over and over for brief periods of time. Whether its an important clarification of vision or down to the minute details about ministry trips or programs. Keep this information close by so that you can plug it into your emails quickly. For the longest time I used text file and word docs to keep these responses filed somewhere so that I could simply cut and paste my response. Lately Ive been using Text Expander and Drafts, but Ill talk more about those tools when we dive into Automation. I know that making some serious changes to your inbox strategy is difficult. But if we just take the time on the f
