Email was once an amazing tool and the best way to communicate with me. But, not anymore. I have become swamped with emails and found myself sitting at my desk staring at MS Outlook just waiting on emails so I could reply to them in hopes I could keep that “unread messages” number under control. I realize now that I cannot keep that number under control and tell those that work with me daily that email is no longer the best way to communicate with me.
I’m back to the good ol’ in-person or phone contact. I currently have 879 unread messages in my inbox and even after I go through and cull out the spam and FYI emails, I’m still at an unreasonable number. Here are a few tips to keeping yourself productive in the face of email overload.
- Delete emails immediately if they are FYI or require no action. If they require action by someone else, forward them or delete them.
- Avoid using “reply-all” as it just creates a chain of reply-alls when a phone conversation would work much better.
- Set aside a specific time of the day to read and reply to emails. Turn off the audio notification of new emails so you won’t feel obligated to immediately read and reply to emails as they come in.
- Don’t send emails. I don’t send an email unless it is absolutely required. If I don’t send you an email you have nothing to reply to me about.
- Tell people to not send you emails. This is a great way to reduce those incoming emails and lets people know that email is unproductive. Force people to communicate with you face to face or over the phone. I actually tell people to text me on my phone if something is urgent. I always pay attention to a text.
Being productive and improving your efficiency at work is something you have much more control over than you think. Find out what works for you and implement and communicate so others will see how best to work with you. You’ll get a lot more done if you get out from under the thumb of email overload.
While I agree with your premise (who can get anything done if they chase after every email the second it comes in?); I do disagree with you on several of your tactics.
1. I never delete email. Email creates a written chain that can be used later if you need to provide proof of what exactly someone said. Instead archive it. I have set folders for every client and subfolders per project. Taking a few min to archive things each day or week keeps your inbox from being overwhelming, but still lets you have access to that “paper” trail later.
2. DO use reply all. It keeps everyone in the loop so that everyone is getting the same story at the same time. In my firm, it is generally understood that if you are in the “to” field you are expected to take action and/or respond. If you are cc’d, it is just for your reference.
3. This is personal preference. I like to check them as I get them just to me sure nothing is on fire. If it is not urgent, I mark it to reply to later.
4. DO send emails as opposed to phone calls for the same reasons I mentioned earlier–that wonderful “paper” trail.
5. I still prefer emails to phone calls because I don’t have to drop everything I am doing *rightthissecond* just to answer a quick question. It means I can wait until I get to a natural stopping point, or write down my current thought before dealing with it.
Being productive and improving your efficiency at work is something you have much more control over than you think. Find out what works for you and implement and communicate so others will see how best to work with you.
I agree 100%. : )
Catchpenny says : I absolutely agree with this !
Try my system. I can’t say that it 100% effective, but it does help.
Make three folders named 1, 2, and 3.
With a quick key command, you can file everything in your inbox into one of these three folders:
1 – those things that you have to act on today or tomorrow.
2 – those things that you have to act on this week.
3 – everything else
The trick is to make quick, split-second decisions.
Guess what? I’ve never even opened folder 3. These are the things that are clearly not important to me. But if they are important to someone else, they will message you again.
And – you have a record of everything, to Amanda’s point.
Try it!