How to Take Control of Your Day with One Simple Change

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• Do you ever feel like your day slips away as soon as you open your email in the morning? 
• Do you get to lunchtime and wonder where your morning went? 
• Are you struggling to get your important things done every day? 

Leading People is the podcast for leaders who want to consistently bring out the best in themselves and others.

These short One Simple Thing episodes have been created with recently appointed managers in mind so you can get off to a flying start as a leader.

And, with the ever-increasing demands of the modern workplace, we can all still learn new things.

If you're feeling challenged at work then I have a game-changing solution for you in this One Simple Thing episode.

And, I've even thrown in a bonus tip for you that can be effective in some situations.

So, tune in, test out this One Simple Thing and witness the transformation it can bring to your day and your leadership journey. 

Connect with me on LinkedIn, share your experiences, and subscribe for more insights that will empower you and those you lead.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Leading People with me, gerry Marais,
this week.
It's One Simple Thing, where ineach episode, I share a quick,
actionable tip to help you bringout the best in yourself and
others.
One Simple Thing is created foryoung leaders, but hey, us

(00:28):
older folks can still learn athing or two.
Ask my dog.
He's learned a few new tricksrecently.
Here's a question for you haveyou ever opened your email first
thing in the morning only tofeel your day slip out of your
control?
Oh boy, yes, all the time.
That's because, when you thinkabout it, your email inbox is

(00:52):
actually a tool for otherpeople's priorities, not yours.
When you let it set the tonefor your day, you're giving away
control of your time and focus.
Oh my God, really yes, you'regiving away your control.
Who in their right mind doesthat?

(01:16):
So here's one simple thing totry out tomorrow Don't check
your email first thing in themorning.
Instead, focus on your mostimportant task, your MIT, or a
priority you've planned thenight before.

(01:38):
Check out episode 64 of LeadingPeople to learn more about your
MIT.
Why does this work?
Because this keeps you incontrol of your agenda, not
someone else's agendacontrolling you.
But I can hear you saying whatabout all those people who want

(02:00):
me to respond to their emails?
Yes, those guys.
Okay, you have a point.
I've even known people send anemail to check whether you
received their earlier emailbecause you haven't responded
yet.
If you have people like this inyour orbit, then here's a bonus

(02:21):
tip for you.
Then here's a bonus tip for youUse an out-of-office message to
inform people that you onlyprocess your emails a few times
per day and you'll get to theirswhen you do your processing.
You could also add that, iftheir issue is extremely urgent,
that they should call you.
Thank you.

(02:42):
In the first two years of usingthis type of out-of-office
message, I received wait for itonly three phone calls, and two
of those were from the sameperson who was not a client.
The other one was from a clientwho really needed my help and I
was able to respond immediatelyand solve their problem.

(03:03):
And no, it didn't affectbusiness.
Their problem, and no, itdidn't affect business.
You know most people can waitfor your reply most of the time.
However, here's a caveat Ifyour job is primarily to respond
to emails for example, you workin customer support, and

(03:24):
responding to emails first thingin the day is your most
important task, then you may notfind the remainder of this tip
so useful, or maybe you will,because one day you have a
different job.
So when you do eventually checkyour email ideally mid to late
morning I usually check minearound 10 o'clock I recommend

(03:48):
that you batch process youremails using a simple three-step
process Respond immediately ifit's something that you can
answer on the spot, flag emailsfor later that need a more
comprehensive response.
I recommend setting aside aspecific time every day for

(04:10):
these types of emails and moreabout this in a future episode
and delete or archive anythingirrelevant.
I would say that I delete orarchive 75 to 80% of my emails
every day, every day.
Wow, yes, this is because I'vesigned up for stuff, when I've

(04:31):
downloaded something special andI'm not so interested in all
their follow-up emails.
What you'll find is, when youprocess emails like this, you
actually spend less time onemails.
When you do actually go throughthem, I find that if I have
roughly 40 to 50 emails in myinbox and I often have more that

(04:52):
I've processed them all within10-15 minutes using this
approach.
Why?
Because it's a focused,proactive activity rather than a
reactive one rather than areactive one.
So, to conclude, adopting thisone simple thing ensures you're

(05:13):
managing your email and notletting it manage you, and it
keeps your energy and focuswhere it belongs on what really
matters.
Test this out for yourself.
Notice how much more productiveand in control you feel when
your day starts with yourpriorities, not the priorities
that others have put in yourinbox.
And that's another one Simplething.

(05:37):
Thanks for tuning in.
Remember, small steps can leadto big changes.
Test out this one simple thingand notice how it transforms
your day.
Let me know how you get on.

(05:59):
Reach out on LinkedIn andconnect with me.
Mention the podcast and ifyou'd like to learn more One
Simple Things, then subscribe tothis podcast on your favorite
podcast channel and follow ourLinkedIn Leading People page.
In our next episode of OneSimple Thing, we'll explore

(06:29):
another easy way to be a greatleader by bringing out the best
in yourself and those around you.
And in between, you can checkout one of my longer
conversations with leadingpeople about yes, you've guessed
it, leading people.
So until then, keep exploringand stay curious.