8 Simple tips to Manage your Emails Effectively

Digital communication has become the main way in which we keep in touch with the world. With millions of users around the world sending daily emails, our inboxes have never been fuller!

Inbox with zero messages… a difficult goal to achieve, isn’t it? Sometimes it may even seem like emails are multiplying! And what about the archive of read messages and the organisation of emails by topic, each one in its respective folder? Not to mention the “clutter” that invades our email inbox and does not allow us to separate the superfluous from the truly important. If you receive several emails a day, and you’re overwhelmed, it’s probably time to look for a solution to manage your email inbox effectively. It will undoubtedly bring you more productivity, clarity of information to process, more time to focus on other tasks and, for that matter, less stress.

We believe that managing emails effectively relies on 3 main factors: practice, organisation and attention to detail. We have listed 8 key tips so that you do not “drown” in the midst of so many emails to read, so many issues to deal with, so many things to answer. We hope it will be useful to you.

1. Check your email inbox (only) two to three times a day

Of all the tips, this is probably the most debatable. After all, if we don’t always keep an eye on our email, we risk missing something important. Still, it is necessary to do some weighing. Is it really necessary to go to your email inbox 50 or 100 times a day? Except for occasional cases, you can probably do this management in a more scheduled way. For example, you can check your inbox first thing in the morning and do it again around lunchtime, taking the time to answer emails. Analyse your agenda and schedule the processing of emails accordingly.

 

2. Use the 80/20 principle

In other words, analyse your emails and select the most important 20%: these are the ones that deserve your full attention and top priority. As for the remaining 80%, postpone for later and if possible delegate the answer to these emails.

 

3. Schedule the answer to emails

You can classify emails by deadline, like “answer until day xx”. That way, you’ll have more time to think about your answer.

 

4. Remember that you don’t need to open or reply to every email

On the other hand, if you want to have a cleaner email inbox, consider unsubscribing from newsletters you don’t read.

 

5. Create templates

If you send similar emails very frequently, you can create one or several templates with a programmed response. For example, let’s image that every week you need to send a report by email, with certain information. Instead of wasting time writing the same message every week, you can copy-paste the template. This way you already have the information ready, and you can save time.

 

6. Read only the emails that are relevant

As for less relevant or even irrelevant emails, put them in a separate folder and open them when the need (and time) arises.

 

7. Organise your email inbox

Use folders, labels and hierarchies to organise emails by subject, sender, priority or any other kind of filter that works for you.

 

8. Be brief and concise in your answers

Accuracy and efficiency are important aspects to consider when writing emails. Short emails are easier to read, facilitate communication, increase focus and reduce the response time. Still, always communicate in a cordial and 100% professional manner.

 

In conclusion, we hope that these tips will help you manage your emails faster and more effectively. How do you manage your email inbox on a daily basis to keep it organised? Share your thoughts with us in the comment box. Until then, we suggest reading this article on how to build a perfect newsletter.