While email is intended to facilitate communication, it sometimes becomes a counter-productive tool because we spend so much time managing our emails.
This article provides 8 useful tips to improve email management:
- Prioritize 20% emails; Defer 80% ones
Not all emails are the same. According to the 80/20 rule, 20% of inputs are responsible for 80% of the outputs in any situation. Hence, to be effective, we should focus on 20% inputs that lead to 80% outputs. Likewise, we should focus on 20% high value emails that lead to maximum output. Give your 20% emails high priority.
- Realize you don’t need to reply to every mail
Despite what you think, you don’t need to reply to every mail. Sometimes, no reply after a certain time period can be considered a reply in itself too. Reply if it helps, but if the costs of replying don’t outweigh the benefits, then maybe it’s not worth worrying about it.
- Create template replies if you often send similar replies
If you look through your sent folder, you’ll probably find a trend in things you reply to. Try to elaborate and use templates that you have written beforehand. As you reply, customize them accordingly to fit the needs of the original mail. This will saved you huge amounts of time.
- Structure your mails into categories
Folders (or labels, if you use gmail) are there to help you organize your mails. Firstly, use a relevant naming system to what you’re doing. Secondly, use hierarchy structure. Using filters to automatically organize mail into folders works wonders.
- Use filters
Filters are tools that help you sort out the mail automatically when it gets into your mail. There are 2 basic things are required for a filter: the term to look out for and the action to apply if the term is matched. Depending on what filter it is, the mail will be automatically sorted into a respective folder / archived.
- Use the 1-minute rule when replying
If it takes within 1 minute to reply, reply to it immediately and archive it. Don’t let it sit in your mail box for ages. It’s going to take even more effort letting it hover around your mind and being constantly reminded that you need to reply.
- Set a limit to the time you spend in the inbox
Limit the overall time you spend in your inbox. See how long you take to process, read, reply, and sort through your mail. Then ask yourself how much of that time is well-spent.
- Unsubscribe from things you don’t read
In your cruising around the web, you probably sign up for a fair share of newsletters and feeds on impulse which you lose interest in afterward. If you find yourself repeatedly deleting the mail from your subscriptions, it’s a cue that you should just unsubscribe immediately.
