Resource Center - Industry Articles
Top 10 Tips for Managing E-Mail More Effectively
by Barbara Hemphill, December 8 2009
• Are you tired of searching for e-mail messages you know are "somewhere" in your In Box?
• Is your electronic "In Box" full of outdated messages?
• Do you frequently get ultimatums from your IT department to "clean up your act?"
Love it or hate it - or both - e-mail is a primary method for communicating in today's digital world, at work and at home. Let's face it, sometimes paper is highly practical. Complex proposals, for example, often require discussions where you need a printed copy that results in physical notes, making the electronic e-mail less valuable than the printed out version.
On the other hand, printing out everything is not likely a good solution. The key to managing e-mail is determining when to keep hard copy and when to keep electronic copy. In some situations, keeping both may be practical. In the case described above, for example, the printed version has value for discussion, and the electronic version has value for creating new versions after the discussion. In either event, following the principles below will improve communication and increase productivity.
5 Tips for Sending E-mail Your Recipients Will Love:
1. Use the Subject line to clearly describe the topic of your e-mail. This is helpful for the recipient, and for you if you want to find a message you've sent.
2. For a lengthy or complicated e-mail, create the e-mail in your word processing program and then copy to your e-mail. If you have an e-mail glitch during the sending process, you can easily retrieve your message!
3. When replying to any e-mail, attach enough of the old message for the recipient to remember the content of the original e-mail, but delete unnecessary information or duplication.
4. Avoid sending e-mail attachments whenever possible. Receivers are becoming more reluctant to open attachments due to the increasing prevalence of viruses. In some instances, you may send an attachment, and include the attachment in the body of the e-mail, with the explanation that the attachment will have better formatting.
5. Use your contact management system to send all of your outgoing e-mail. With many programs, you can attach your outgoing e-mail messages to the recipients, and other related contacts, and they will automatically appear in the Out Box of your e-mail program.
5 Tips for Managing Your Incoming E-mail:
1. Clutter is Postponed Decisions® To avoid an overflowing e-mail In Box, create a plan to deal with the email right away. Does it require action? Create a task, then delete it or file it in another folder. Do you need to keep it for reference? Save it to your computer in an appropriate folder. The key is to make a decision and get it out of your In Box.
2. Whenever you open your incoming e-mail, apply The File-Act-Toss SystemTM and continually ask The Art of Wastebasketry® question: "What's the worst thing that would happen if I didn't keep this?"
3. If you aren't sure you need it, toss it! Unlike a paper wastebasket, you can always retrieve e-mail from an un-emptied electronic trash or deleted items folder by using the "Find Message" feature available in most e-mail programs.
4. Apply the "2-Do Rule" whenever possible. If you can reply in 2 minutes, then do it right away. It will take longer to file it and retrieve it again later, so why not do it now?
5. For e-mail that takes more time to reply, create a personalized system for handling. Most email users leave message in their "In" box, but research shows that's not the best solution. If you're overwhelmed with your email, consider hiring a virtual productivity consultant or an e-mail management program.
With the advent of cloud computing, email will be used less and less for communication and collaboration. In the meantime, following these ten simple tips, you can make your email easier to manage!
Barbara Hemphill started her business in 1978 with a $7 ad in a New York City newspaper. She is the founder of the Productive Environment Institute whose mission is to help organizations create and sustain a productive environment so everyone can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. Author of the best-selling Kiplinger book series "Taming the Paper Tiger," she has been referred to by the media as "America's Favorite Organizer" and has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, in the Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, Fast Company, and many more. She has also helped major corporations, such as Staples, Hallmark, Eastman Kodak and 3M, increase their productivity and efficiency. For more information on her seminars and services, please contact barbara@ProductiveEnvironment.com
About CallSource
CallSource (http://www.callsource.com) delivers ResultsSM, the first and only integrated marketing, sales, training and management system. CallSource offers the multifamily housing industry's best and most extensive eLearning courses. The company also provides custom course development and training for numerous other industries. CallSource has trained tens of thousands of business professionals. With redundant, carrier-class networks in Burbank and Chicago, CallSource tracks over 1,000,000 ads for 234,000 unique business locations across the U.S. and Canada.
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Training Blurb
Increase your productivity with tips from organizational expert Barbara Hemphill. Read her article.
