The disparity between managing email and managing MS Teams often goes unnoticed, yet companies are paying a hefty price for overlooking it.

Consider Teams as your virtual neighborhood and Outlook as the broader world encompassing your neighborhood. While you can invite external parties to your Teams neighborhood, the invitation process is selective. In contrast, Outlook operates on a “come one, come all” basis; anyone with your email address can join the party. Despite spam protection acting as a gated complex, it’s challenging to distinguish between neighbors, well-meaning visitors, and manipulative marketers seeking your attention.

In general, most communications in Teams are internal, which doesn’t diminish their importance but underscores a difference in focus compared to customer interactions, particularly in sales and customer service.

Now, envision assigning a monetary value to each email in your inbox. While some emails enhance...

There could be several reasons why lean leaders might be hesitant to upgrade email management practices. Here are a few possible factors:

1. Lack of awareness: Lean leaders may not be aware of the available options for upgrading email management practices. They may be accustomed to traditional email systems and not realize the potential benefits of adopting new tools or approaches.
   
   
2. Time and resource constraints: Implementing changes to email management practices requires time and resources. Lean leaders may be focused on other improvement initiatives or prioritizing other areas for optimization within their organizations. They might perceive email management as a lower priority or not worth the investment of time and resources.
   
   
3. Resistance to change: Change can be challenging for individuals and organizations. Lean leaders may face resistance from employees who are comfortable with existing email practices or reluctant to learn new tools and processes. Overcoming resistance to change...

Cleaning out an inbox every now and then can be considered a bad practice for several reasons:

It can be time-consuming: Setting aside a specific time to clean out your inbox can take a lot of time and effort, especially if you have many messages to go through. This can be especially challenging if you’re trying to balance multiple tasks and responsibilities.

It can lead to missed opportunities: If you’re only cleaning out your inbox infrequently, it’s possible that you’ll miss important messages or opportunities. For example, if you’re only checking your inbox once a week, you may miss a deadline for a job application or a sale that ends in a day.

It can lead to unnecessary stress: If your inbox is constantly overflowing with messages, it can be stressful and overwhelming. Waiting until you have time to clean it out can make the problem even worse, leading to additional stress and anxiety.

Instead, it is better to have a system in place that allows you...

P.S. MS Co-pilot won’t have these either.

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and staying ahead often means utilizing tools in ways you might not have considered. This guide, “10 Upgrades to Outlook You Desperately Need but Don’t Realize It,” unveils how LeanMail’s integration with Microsoft Outlook introduces essential enhancements. Each feature is carefully crafted to optimize your workflow, bringing an elevated level of organization and efficiency to your daily tasks.

1. Prioritization Simplified

Effortlessly prioritize your emails by applying the 80/20 rule with simple clicks. This upgrade ensures that you concentrate on the most critical messages first, making your inbox management more efficient than ever.

2. Efficient Notetaking

Enhance your email organization by adding quick notes in a separate column next to the subject line. This feature minimizes re-reading and analysis, allowing you to keep track of essential information at a glance....

As we begin 2024, it’s crucial to emphasize that while AI advancements are reshaping industries and boosting efficiency, our focus should primarily be on effectiveness —the cornerstone of sustainable success in the modern workplace.

The Impact of Effectiveness

I recently read an engaging blog published by Microsoft’s COO, Frank X. Shaw, entitled, making significant strides, we should never lose sight of the fact that achieving effectiveness in our endeavors always takes precedence over efficiency. Technology alone cannot guarantee success; it’s how we harness these innovations to prioritize, plan, and focus that truly matters.

Balancing Efficiency and Effectiveness

Efficiency is undoubtedly essential, and AI tools like Copilot for Microsoft 365 have showcased their ability to enhance productivity and streamline tasks. Still, it’s vital to recognize that efficiency is just one piece of the puzzle. True effectiveness encompasses a broader spectrum:

• ...

In today’s fast-paced digital world, managing our emails efficiently is crucial to maintaining productivity and staying organized. However, there’s a common habit that many of us might have fallen prey to – marking emails as “unread” after we’ve already read them. While it may seem harmless at first glance, this practice can lead to several negative consequences. Let’s delve into the reasons why marking emails as unread is a bad idea:

1. Lying is a Bad Idea from the Start

Honesty is the best policy, even in our digital communications. Marking emails as unread when we’ve actually read them can lead to confusion and ambiguity because each time you re-read the email, you need to re-mark the mail as unread. Besides a lot of extra admin, the risk of forgetting to re-mark each read mail as being unread grows, and so does the vulnerability of your prioritization system.

2. Inability to Identify Urgent Matters

With no distinction between...

Many of us find ourselves drowning in a sea of emails, struggling to stay organized and on top of our inboxes. The common misconception is that the problem lies in organizing emails, but the real challenge is finding and prioritizing the important ones at the right time. This is where LeanMail steps in to offer a practical solution.

The Importance of Prioritization

The key to email productivity isn't about meticulously organizing every email into folders or applying complex filters. While these tactics can help, the true power lies in prioritizing your emails effectively. After all, not all emails are created equal. Some are time-sensitive and require immediate attention, while others can wait.

LeanMail: Your Personal Email Productivity Assistant

LeanMail is a game-changer when it comes to managing your email effectively. It goes beyond mere organization and focuses on helping you identify and prioritize the emails that matter most. Here's how it works:

1. LeanMail's Methodology

...

What if you recognize the value LeanMail could bring to your team's productivity but you're hesitant to introduce a new tool?

While this caution is reasonable, keep in mind that your team is unlikely to discover such specialized solutions without guidance. Remember the Post-it Note story? Peer Collaboration is Key to Make Innovation Happen.

What if, instead of seeing sharing LeanMail as an imposition, you saw it as empowering your team to manage email more efficiently. By not introducing LeanMail, you're missing an opportunity to provide a tool that cuts through the everyday chaos of information overload.

A practical way to introduce LeanMail is to invite your teams to our workshop.  Perhaps you've already been to one?  This isn't merely a presentation; it's a forum for dialogue, and questions. Framing it as a learning opportunity adds value and makes the initiative more appealing.

By showcasing LeanMail, you're giving your team a firsthand look at its...

Our marketing team receives similar responses to this one on a daily basis.

Thank you for your interest, but we recently received training and consultancy on ‘time management and the use of outlook’, so let’s not waste your time, thanks again.

 
Here’s why it’s a shame that many leaders share this attitude.

 In today’s fast-paced business environment, email has become the primary mode of communication for our customers. While many view email management as a matter of time management, it encompasses much more than that. Reassessing how teams handle email can have a profound impact on productivity, collaboration, client relationships, and ultimately, the success of the business. Let’s explore why email management goes beyond time management and why it deserves a closer look.

1. Efficient Communication and Collaboration: Email serves as the lifeblood of team communication. By reassessing email management practices, teams can ensure...

Introducing others to LeanMail could change the game for everyone involved. If you're unfamiliar with LeanMail, it's more than just another email management tool. It offers a comprehensive system for sorting, prioritizing, and handling emails effectively.

The benefits are manifold:

• Never Drop the Ball: LeanMail ensures that no email goes unnoticed or unattended, helping you and your contacts stay on top of things.
• Never Late: With prioritization features, emails are responded to in a timely manner, eliminating delayed replies and fostering quicker decision-making.
• Total Overview: LeanMail provides a clear, clutter-free view of your inbox, so you can see what needs attention now, and what can wait.
• Work By Your Priorities: LeanMail lets you align your email tasks with your broader goals and priorities, making every response more strategic.
• Effortless Archiving: Finding archived emails is a breeze, thanks to LeanMail's efficient organizational system.

So, if you're plagued by slow...