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A few years ago, the average corporate email
user received between 60-70 messages per day. This year, most of our
clients are reporting receiving between 100-150 emails each day and it is
reasonable to expect that this trend will continue. Last month's newsletter gave you thoughts
on writing effective email. This month, we'd like to offer suggestions on how
to reduce your volume of incoming email messages. Our clients are used to
hearing us say, "You are not a victim of your inbox -- you can exercise
control over what you receive." Try some of these tips and let us know
how they work. Best
wishes, P.S. Reader comments from June's newsletter on
"Writing Effective Emails": "Great
newsletter. I forwarded it to our employees with a note stating they should
read [your newsletter], understand it and follow it." R.G. "I get extremely
frustrated when I get an email from another employee who sits 30 feet away. I
hope verbal communication is not a thing of the
past but with email, texting and twitter, I wonder." H.M. "I'm not a
professional organizer, like you, but am a fanatic about having my clients
use email effectively to communicate clearly, reduce miscommunication, and
save time. Your ideas have reinforced some of the same advice I provide to
our clients. Thanks for the tips!" Renee Walkup www.salesspeak.com Contact Us: |
EMAIL MANAGEMENT
-- REDUCE WHAT YOU RECEIVE Clarify to
Co-Workers When to Email You (and When NOT to): In the absence of information, human nature is
to take the safest route. It is easier to copy your boss than risk not
keeping him/her informed. Talk to your boss and your direct reports. Clarify
when a cc: is the best action versus when to save information for a future
one-on-one meeting. Most of the time, a daily or weekly status
report that summarizes recent decisions and actions can replace tens or
sometimes hundreds of email messages sent and received. Create
a "Disposable" Email Account There are many providers (Google, Yahoo,
Mailinator, etc.) that will allow you to create a few email accounts. Use
these accounts for web transactions and purchases. If an address starts
to receive too much spam, disable it and create a new one. Turn Off Incoming Email
Alerts By default, most email programs will alert you
whenever you receive a new message. These visual and auditory
notifications can prompt you to respond.immediately, like
Pavlov's dog. You need to be appropriately responsive to incoming email, not
necessarily instantly responsive. Being instantly responsive discourages
people from contacting you through any other mechanism, and encourages
more and more email. Avoid "Read
Receipts" Each time you attach a read or delivery
receipt to an email, you do two things: 1) You annoy the recipient and 2) You
generate more email for yourself. However, we understand that there are
certain instances when receipts are necessary -- just use them judiciously. Stop Email Forwards We all know people who love to forward chain
messages, jokes, inspirational stories and the like. Personally, we are not
inspired by an excess of email. For that reason, we have used www.stopforwarding.com. Go to that site, enter in the email address of the perpetrator
of your choice and they will receive an anonymous but very polite email
requesting that they cease and desist their forwarding practices. It
works. Limit Unsolicited
Email Okay, folks. We are well aware that spam is
one of the biggest problems in email management today. Dealing with this
issue is complex. For that reason, the 3-part newsletter series on email
management is now going to be a 4-part series. Next month we're going to discuss
spam. However, we'd like your help first. Email us
links, warnings, best practices, nightmare stories -- anything you feel is
relevant to this topic. Specifically please consider the following issues: 1) To unsubscribe or not to unsubscribe ...
that is the question. 2) Blocking and filters and deleting -- oh my! 3) How did this spammer ever find me??? Next month, we'll amass your collective wisdom
into concrete tips and recommendations. ________________________ Eliminating the number of emails that
arrive in your inbox will save you time by reducing back and forth
communication and your answering emails needlessly. |
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Copyright 2010 *
It's Time To Get Organized, LLC * All Rights Reserved |
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