It’s pretty hard not to default to using it as a task list though. For one, it’s kind of already in list format. And you probably check it first thing when you sit down at your desk. So once you’ve sifted through all the promos, newsletters, and other automated stuff, you have a list of things you need to do, and you simply get to work.

The problem is, “inbox to-dos” is not a list you’re in control of.

1. You didn’t write it.
2. It’s full of surprises. (You don’t know exactly what’s waiting inside each of those messages)
3. It’s relentless. The messages just. keep. coming.

It’s like if you went to the grocery store with a shopping list but new items kept mysteriously appearing, sending you back and forth across the store without rhyme or reason. Even when you make it through the checkout line (AKA inbox zero? Using a pause tool?), it’s only a momentary reprieve. The list just never ends. 

So here most of us are. Annoyed and overwhelmed, wondering why it feels so hard to get things done. 

It’s because we’re hammering with screwdrivers. Email is a tool for communicating, not for doing. 

“Using email as a task manager is like using a screwdriver to pound a nail. It can work, sort of, but it’s the wrong tool for the job.”

Cue work management software. A place where you are in control of the flow of information.  Where you can easily, visually track the progress of tasks. Where you don’t have to wade through 27 casual replies of “sounds good” to find out what everyone’s in consensus about. 

So how do you make the switch? How can you get out of email exile and into productivity paradise? 

You need Good Work FLOW. (See what I did there?) 

This is my tried and true method for capturing your tasks, to-dos, directives, ideas, and inspirations, organizing them, and acting on them. 

FLOW stands for Funnel. Label. Optimize. Work. 

You funnel all the things from all the places into your work management system. There it’s quick and easy to label them according to project and priority. Then you optimize by assigning owners, collaborators, subtasks, and automations as needed. Now, you’re ready to work.   

Good Work FLOW gives you a system for sending emails, chat messages, websites, podcasts, photos, iPhone notes, even physical mail – to one place where it takes moments to sort and prioritize so you can get to work. 

I teach Good Work FLOW as part of my work management services for individuals and teams, but it’s about to become an on-demand class! 

I’ll show you how to use the built-in but sometimes secret features of work management tools to create a game-changing platform for Getting. Stuff. Done. 

Get on the list today! It’ll change your (work) life; I promise.