Technology is a wonderful thing - it allows us to work virtually, from
anywhere in the world, and makes our lives easier. However, it can also
hinder us, and this is particularly true in the case of emails.
Every day we are bombarded with hundreds of emails, only a small
percentage of which are necessary. Spam filters are great at filtering
most of the unwanted emails but a small amount do get through, adding to
the number we have to sift through!
We can spend hours each day checking, sorting, and reading our emails
only to find we haven't the time left for actual work!
Here are my top 5 tips
for managing your emails and giving you back your much-needed time.
-
Emails aren't urgent!
Don't feel you have to read and act upon your email the second it
hits your inbox. You don't! It isn't urgent. If there was a real
emergency then your client/colleague/friend would call you.
-
Are all those
newsletters you subscribe to really necessary? Probably not! If this
the case spend some time going through them and unsubscribing the
ones you don't really want or read.
-
Does your email play
distracting alerts, i.e. a sound? If so, disable it. This is a
distraction and you could quite easily stop what you're working on
to go and check your emails. It will then take you some time to get
back on track again, not to mention the amount of time you've
just lost stopping what you were doing, reading your emails, and
actioning them.
-
Schedule set times to
check your emails. Once or twice a day is enough, say first thing in
the morning and again later in the day. If you subscribe to various
industry groups save reading these emails until you take a break
from your work - maybe at the end of the day when you're winding
down. You can easily get sidetracked reading all the different
topics and replying to them, all of which is taking you away from
your paid work.
- Utilize email filtering tools. Set up folders and filters so
that your email gets sent to the appropriate folder as soon as it
arrives. Don't know how to do this? Read my article
Is Your Inbox Getting You Down? How to
Avoid Inbox Overwhelm.
If you follow these 5 tips above, you will find you are spending less
time worrying about and checking your emails, and more time on being
productive! That has got to be better for your bottom line.
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About the author:
Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey
Lawton, supports professional speakers, coaches, and authors to operate an
efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient
and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at
http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com
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