HOW TO HANDLE YOUR EMAILS

HOW TO HANDLE YOUR EMAILS

from the article 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Emailers'
By Laura Vanderkam | July 6, 2011

Email doesn’t have to consume your life. Here are 7 ideas for turning email into the tool it is, rather than the be-all and end-all of your days.

1. Lower the volume. When you email the same people too many times per day, they pay less attention. Ideally, your emails will be like eagerly awaited letters that, as a kid, you used to check the mail box for (remember that?)

2. Don’t ask to be kept “in the loop.” Trust your employees to do their jobs without your constant oversight. If you don’t think they’ll execute against goals you’ve set unless you’re cc-ed on every email, get a new team.

3. Return email in batches. Rather than answer each email as it comes in, set windows twice per day (when you’re not concentrating on more focused work) when you can crank out 10 replies at once.

4. Be clear. If something could be misconstrued or misunderstood, requiring a 20-email chain to clarify, pick up the phone or go talk in person.

5. Spell correctly. Use correct grammar. Not only does it look more professional, in this day and age you never know when emails will wind up in the newspaper or forwarded somewhere you never intended. You’ll look like a fool if you type like a tween sending texts.

6. Leave the iPhone or Blackberry at your desk sometimes. You don’t need to check email in line at the deli counter. Really. It can wait. Say hi to the person making your sandwich instead.

7. Remember, email is not your job. Like meetings and conference calls, it is a tool to do your job. If all you’re doing is filing and answering emails, you’re probably not getting anywhere. Focus on results, not your inbox, and you’ll get a lot more done.

How much time do you spend on email each day?

MY THOUGHTS

Hear! Hear! 'Email is not your job'  It is your tool.  By following these tips you can manage your emails, having control over them instead of the other way around.  Depending on the nature of your job, I think it is best to schedule when to open and read your mails.