Email can be oppressive and depressing; it can also be a modern marvel for up-to-date communication. Which one it is depends on you.

Remember when technology was supposed to make our lives easier? What happened to that dream? I believe we have to get productivity items to work for us rather than against us.

Until a few weeks ago, I had chosen to make communications overwhelming and oppressive.

Recently, I decided to make communication a blessing rather than a hindrance. What do you have to do make communication a means of greater productivity and a blessing in life?

You must develop a plan and stick with it. Most well thought-out plans will work. The problem is usually not the plan; it is not working the plan.

Here’s a plan that works for me:

1. Clean out your inbox and answer those nagging communications. That took about a week of determined effort to put all of that behind me.

Read here to see more of cleaning out my inbox. http://waylonbailey.com/2014/03/13/too-many-tos-and-not-enough-dos/

2. Keep my desk and my inbox clean. I try to spend the last minutes of the day to straighten my desk and respond to any communications. Dedicating those last few minutes makes all the difference.

My productivity sky rockets when those two areas are not cluttered. You have probably heard that “a clean desk is the sign of a cluttered mind.” It shouldn’t be believed–at least not for me. A clean desk prompts me toward getting things done.

3. Don’t let technology become your master. My smart phone and iPad are to be used to help me do my work. They are not my work. At some point you have to turn off the gadgets and live your life.

4. Use a to-do list to keep on track. I use my list for the important things I must do (write a blog everyday, prepare for three to five speaking engagements each week) as well as the small items which also need my attention.

When I receive an email that cannot be dispatched quickly, I move the email to another folder (marked “for consideration,” “for reading” or with the name of one of my key team leaders, or some other appropriate folder) and make a note on my to-do list to talk with the person about the subject. Then I note in which folder the email can be found in case I need it to jog my memory or to get the specifics of the situation.

This has been a helpful plan for me. It’s certainly not complicated. I like simplicity.

Does this mean I’ll never get behind? I wouldn’t think so. Piles of material seem to follow me around, but I know myself enough to say that this simple plan has helped me greatly.

I hope you’ll find help with it as well.