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The Top
Ten Ways to Reduce Your Email and Reclaim Your Productivity
(700
words)
by
Marsha Egan
Email
use is on the rise. Daily, people on all rungs of the corporate
ladder complain about the number of emails they receive, how
much work it is for them to handle, and how just opening up the
inbox stresses them out. But, instead of letting excessive
amounts of email control you, here are 10 sure fire ways to
manage your email going out to reduce the numbers of email
coming in.
1. Be
very clear. By making sure that the content of your emails
is very understandable, you can avoid people emailing you with
questions. Taking a small amount of time on the front end to
read through the email you are about to send can go a long way
in avoiding a return question.
2.
Make the subject line detailed. By including detailed
information in the subject lines, your recipients will be able
to sort and respond to your message with the right priority. The
detailed subject line will also help YOU sort and handle
responses.
3.
Use only one subject per email. The reality is that most
people skim. If you put two requests in one email, there is a
strong likelihood that only one of the requests will be
responded to. It is more effective to send two emails with
different subjects, than to incorporate two subjects into one
email. This practice is also helpful for people who want to file
the messages.
4.
Place the main point, assignment, or request in the first two
lines of the email. People have a tendency to build up to a
conclusion when they write; this tendency makes it very
difficult, at times, for readers to figure out what the main
issue or request is. By putting your main point in the first two
sentences, you can avoid misinterpretations and get readers
focused on exactly what you want, right from the get-go.
5.
Copy only the people who need to read the message. For every
extraneous person copied on an email, you have potential to
receive a response. Now, you’ve just created more unnecessary
email for the both of you!
6.
Resist getting involved in threads that are not related to your
work. This tends to happen most often when we respond to
emails that we were excessively “cc”ed on. If this happens to
you, just don’t respond because once you involve yourself, you
become a player in the game and your workload increases.
7.
Send less email. While this may seem a no-brainer, email
begets email. Sometimes it is better and easier to pick up the
phone, or to just not respond.
8.
Have a detailed signature line. Make sure that all of your
contact information is in the signature line of every email you
send. This way, anyone who needs to contact you will not have to
email you asking for your address, fax number, etc.
9.
Make it a group standard to use the electronic calendar.
When everyone places all of his or her appointments in the
electronic calendar, it makes it very easy for people to
schedule meetings. This avoids emails going back and forth with
questions like “are you available next Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.?”
10.
Avoid controversial or argumentative emailing. When you
engage in an emotional discussion via email, the emails will
fly. Emotional issues should never be handled by email; a phone
call or person to person handling of the situation is best, both
for the sake of your inbox, and the health of the office
dynamic.
While
each one of these may save only a small amount of time, or may
reduce your email only by a few, collectively, they have
potential to enormously help you control the number of the
emails you receive. Email is here to stay; the sooner you
develop productive habits regarding its use, the more time you
will have for what is really important in your life.
For more
information, please visit www.eganemailsolutions.com.
Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC, is CEO of the Egan Group, Inc., Reading
PA. An ICF Certified Professional Coach, she is a leading
authority on email productivity. She works with companies who
want to recover lost time and money due to wasteful email
practices. Her recently released ebooks, Help! I've Fallen
into My Inbox and Can't Climb Out! Five Email Self management
Strategies that Will Add Hours to Your Week and Reclaim
Your Workplace Email Productivity: Add BIG BUCKS to Your Bottom
Line can be found at
http://EganEmailSolutions.com. |
