FS 307: Dealing with Inbound Communications

Panel:

Jonathan Stark
Erik Dietrich

In this episode of the Freelancers’ Show, the panelists discuss dealing with inbound communications, what to do if you’re getting too much and what to do if you’re not getting enough. They talk about how difficult it is to manage inbound communication, especially when there is a large amount coming in, the difference between using slack and email, and Gmail plugins to help organize incoming emails. They also touch on triaging your inbox, being honest with yourself as to what you actually will do on your to-do list, and more!

In particular, we dive pretty deep on:

Getting too much inbound communication VS not enough
Needing better ways to manage inbound communication
Very difficult to manage when there is a lot coming in
Do you mean just email or multiple channels?
What are your channels of inbound communication?
Working on ways to optimize
Moving urgent client communication to Slack
The difference between Slack and Email
Declaring email bankruptcy
The ability to ignore email inbox
Gmail plugins to help
Buffering emails
Only checking slack for paying customers
Go in once a day to clean up your incoming communication
Not knowing an email is there VS strenuously trying to avoid it
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Getting Things Done – David Allen
Triaging your inbox
Only focus on the urgent to-dos
Be honest with yourself so your to do list doesn’t get too long
If you don’t feel the need to get to it within a week, it’s not that important
Suffering from inbox overload
To get less email, you can respond less frequently 
And much, much more!

Links:

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Getting Things Done – David Allen

Sponsors:

FreshBooks
Linode

Picks:

Jonathan

Calendly
Guide to Winning Clients by David A. Fields
The Pricing Seminar

Erik

Getting Things Done
SiteGround
Calendly