Mailbird CEO Andrea Loubier’s secret to becoming an Email Ninja

Do you rush to check your inbox every time it ‘pings’ a new mail?
Are the number of unread messages in your inbox piling up?
Have you lost important information in the daily deluge of emails?
Does inbox zero feel like a distant unachievable dream?

If the answer to any one of the above is ‘yes’, don’t lose heart.
There are simple ways to turn the dreaded email into your best productivity tool.

Email expert Andrea Loubier, CEO of Mailbird – a sharp email client made for Windows – has let us in on her trade secrets (just for FreeMind PitStop readers).

Mailbird is a powerful tool making waves in the world of email. BBC, Techcrunch, PC World, Huffington Post are all talking about it!

Curious?
Read on to get insider information on how to turn the email foe into your productivity booster…

My conversation with Andrea…

Peter:
Andrea, email is intended to be a powerful productivity tool, but nearly everyone agrees that it also happens to be a productivity killer! How do you think email damages our productivity?

Andrea Loubier:
Email is one of the best online communication tools today. We just need to fix how we use it. We are the culprits allowing email to become a productivity killer.

Most of us have a habit of checking every single mail as soon as it lands in the inbox!
The reason why we are so addicted to email is because we get a sense of achievement or progress after “handling” an email.
The trouble is, this habit distracts us from other important tasks that really matter. Spending too much time on email keeps us ‘busy’, but not productive. Mailbird helps us to change these habits.

We’ve all heard the complaint “Ughh….I have SO many emails!”

Instead you should say, “I have a lot of emails today but I’m not going to let it distract me from my most important tasks at hand. I’m going to schedule my time with email, use it proactively and not reactively, and use a great all-in-one communication platform that allows me to manage email happily and effectively.”

Peter:
What can we do to prevent email from turning into a time waster?

Andrea:
A couple of really important things that we need to remember are:

1. Don’t leave your inbox open and accessible all day. Incoming emails are one of the biggest distractions at work.
2. Bulk process emails and allocate limited time for it. This will give you time to get real work done.

If you schedule your time with email and use it proactively and not reactively, it can become a great all-in-one communication platform.

Peter:
What are the challenges and limitations with most email platforms?

Andrea:
Most email platforms haven’t really evolved much. They are limited to being communication tools rather than systems that help you get things done.

Most platforms also don’t train people, who get easily distracted by online activities, on how to effectively manage information and communication. The inherent structure of these platforms actually reduce our productivity rather than help us achieve more.

For instance, most platforms don’t help you get to inbox zero. They also don’t integrate well with to-do lists or social media apps.

Peter:
How does Mailbird help people become more productive?

Andrea:
Mailbird is much more than just an email client. It is an all-in-one communication hub with email at its core, and seamless integration with messaging, task management, calendars, video meetings and other apps.

Innovative features in Mailbird focuses on helping people reach inbox zero, process emails faster and remove additional navigation from web to apps in managing their business or any type of online workflow.

Some interesting features in Mailbird 2.0 include:

• speed reader to get through emails quickly
• quick compose even when Mailbird is not the active window
• LinkedIn lookup
• multi-account support
• integration with apps like Todoist, Evernote, Unroll Me, Veeting Rooms and more

Peter:
What Mailbird features do your users love most?

Andrea:

1. Our users love that they can choose the apps they want to integrate with their email.
2. Being able to customize the layout with colours and positioning of panes from the message list, apps, sidebar app viewer and message viewer is another favourite feature.
3. Keyboard shortcuts are also key in effective email management and users have reported a better email experience due to this feature.

Peter:
What email tips do you recommend for our readers?

Andrea:

1. Start your day working on the first task you planned for (yes, this means you have to plan the day before), schedule time to check email only after that first task is complete.
2. Keep email responses short and to the point. If you find that there is a need for an in-depth interaction, that would not be effective  via back and form asynchronous email communication. Pick up the phone or get on a video meeting.
3. Finally, find an email tool that integrates with other communication and work management tools!

 Peter:
What other productivity tools do you like?

Andrea:

1. The Pomodoro technique is a great time management and productivity tactic as well, scheduling intense and limited working time, and breaks.
2. Moo.do is an awesome and simple task management tool that is great for internal teams.
3. I also use Google calendar for managing all important dates and reminders. This is integrated with Mailbird so I get all reminders and notifications right in the Google Calendar app when it is activated in Mailbird. That means one less window to open in my web browser – an absolute saver.

Peter:
What productivity hacks do you guys use at Mailbird?

Andrea:

1. We use Asana for team task management and Time Doctor to monitor how we spend our time.
2. Some of us listen to music that flips on our productivity switch and gets us in the right mindset to get things done.
3. Few of my team members keep their planned ‘to do’ list next to their computer screens so it is always in view.
4. We also switch off email when working on tasks that require uninterrupted focus or find a quiet place without distractions.

All this helps us stay focused as a collaborative, well-oiled, and international team!

Become an email Ninja 

Email doesn’t have to be a source of stress and worry.
Take action on Andrea’s advice and soon it will be smooth sailing through that dreaded inbox.

How will you turn email into your best productivity buddy?