Lean Office Transformations
Welcome to Lean Office Transformations - a newsletter designed to save you time and become more efficient. References to Lean Manufacturing and Lean Office refer to a productivity philosophy created by Toyota which is now adapted by companies worldwide.
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Because it's the Holiday Season this newsletter contains only one brief article. But it's an important one so read on and enjoy! 
Many people report that their #1 Email Pet Peeve is that they get too many emails. Should you decide to evaluate the actual emails you receive, you may notice that a few negative habits are responsible for contributing to many of the emails arriving in your Inbox. Here are a few "culprits" to keep an eye out for:
- Hitting "Reply to All" vs. "Reply". Yes, there really are two buttons in your tool bar. Take caution when hitting that "Reply to All" button as many times, it is unnecessary.
- Replies that simply say "Thanks", "Got It", or "See you at the meeting." These unnecessary responses still interrupt you and force you to take time to open them. Give others permission not to send one of these responses by stating in your previous email, "No need to respond."
- Being CC'd on too many emails. When working on a project, get clarification from the Team Lead as to when others need to be cc'd. If you are a manager, communicate clearly with your team members when you expect to be kept in the loop on things. Discourage CYA emails whenever possible.
- Emails of personal nature. Discourage family and friends from using your work email address. By keeping personal emails separate from work ones, you'll be more aware of the time spent processing them.
- Non-time sensitive emails that can be presorted into file folders. This newsletter is a great example of a non-time sensitive email. It's a newsletter that you signed up for but it isn't pressing or urgent. Set up a "rule" for this newsletter and others, sorting them into a file folder labeled "To Read". It will now be kept from arriving in your Inbox but will be safely stored elsewhere until you have time to devote to it.
If you're guilty of any of the above, then adapt the Nike slogan to your email habits and "Just Stop It"!
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Audrey Thomas offers you her articles to reprint or repost - FREE - provided that her name and contact information (supplied at the end of each article) are included. So if you need content for things like newsletters, email announcements or sales reports, please take advantage of this valuable resource.
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