Email can be an incredibly powerful communication and collaboration tool; but, if not managed well, can become counterproductive and lead to wasteful emails inboxes that drain productivity. Effective email management is a skill anyone can learn and apply in any workplace environment – and requires some practice and discipline, but the benefits can be great!
Proactive email management requires responding promptly and limiting how much time you devote to it each day. To do this effectively, set aside specific blocks of time throughout the day to check and respond to email – this will prevent it from being an endless source of distraction while making sure your most pressing tasks get attended to first.
Organising your inbox with folders or categories is another effective way to simplify email management. Assign each project a separate folder so you can find its messages easily; or create one specifically for urgent emails which need immediate responses.
Modern email services and apps come equipped with filters and organizational tools that can automatically sort your emails according to subjects, importance or any other criteria you set. Color code your emails according to category or priority so you know at a glance what needs to be addressed next.
Another fantastic way to improve email management is writing quick, clear emails with purpose. Not only will this shorten processing times but will ensure recipients understand your emails without misinterpretation or confusion. Furthermore, many email service providers now provide templates for frequently used communications that you can reuse instantly with just a click or two.
Be sure to unsubscribe from any newsletters that clutter your work email inbox. Review your subscriptions regularly and unsubscribe from anything that does not add value for you or your team. The more newsletters you remove from your inbox, the less junk mail there will be and how much better your workday can go!
