Walking by a colleague real estate agent's office I popped my head in to see how things were going. She was busy with email reading and replying. I asked how many emails she received per day. She said 150. I don't know how many emails you get a day between business and personal but that number or more requires some serious management. Or else, timewise, your life is being taken over. Some quick tips I've found to get a handle on it.
Inbound
- Review and disconnect - if you've signed up for newsletters or blog feeds two years ago that you're still getting and no longer meet your needs, unsubscribe
- Unsubscribe immediately - if new email newsletters come from new sources you may want to read one or two issues to get a feel for them but get good at unsubscribing from them if they don't fit
- Go Digest not Individual messages - if you subscribe to Group discussions like Yahoo Groups, go to your settings and select Digest not Individual mesages to get approximately one summary email per day
- Use the color highlight button in Outlook to mark red any priority messages from a manager or key individual message that you want to jump out at you
- Delete early and often and learn to speed read - I usually don't delete purely on subject other than if the Spam filter lets the Viagra or Nigerian prince come through, but read paragraphs quickly and delete quickly
- Use a Blackberry, Treo, or other device to look at subjects throughout the day and stay on top of email. One colleague I know left unopened email remain for days at a time. He is way behind now!
Outbound
- Write a very clear subject message line for your reader
- Be nice with the etiquette. NO ALL CAPS! Don't say anything derogatory.
- Be of value with your message. Have something vs. nothing to say
- The #1 rule - BE BRIEF. Get to the point in the first paragraph
- Try not to send large file attachments. 3 MB and smaller if at all possible
- Never, ever, Reply All, and get some kind of innane ping pong thread going back and forth
- Use common sense with outbound email and send it to those who might actually like you and care that you are contacting them, vs. them seeing your name and immediately hitting DELETE
- Try to proofread, and spell check your composition at least a little bit so it makes sense
- YOU don't have to write 150 emails a day either. Take a break from writing sometime
- Check your hyperlinks that they work before sending them out
- Leave clear contact information in your signature
- Leave information on what to do when you are out of office for extended periods of time
- Finally, remember email is fast and efficient BUT it is not the only way to communicate. Write a handwritten letter, send a greeting card or gift or thank you note through snail mail, call by phone, or have a face to face meeting here and there. Get AWAY from the computer. Not only get a life, but reclaim your life
Some say to check email at fixed times like twice a day. I think that is old school, and if you are connected now nearly constantly, check it as often as you like, and don't feel guilty about it. There is no hard and fast rule in this area. I've noticed people age 30 and under check email and instant messages almost like watching TV - any time of the day they feel like it.
Emails are both blessing and curse. Blessing because we can communicate quickly and easily, even our marketing message, and a curse because they constantly interrupt and will make you manuever like a very busy, Lazy Susan. Sometimes I just turn off my Outlook in order to dig-in and complete my work at hand. You can't let the whole world dictate your schedule, otherwise you'd never get your work done.
I'll definitely try these things...I need all the help I can get with my email!
Good post, Thanks, take care and good luck to you!
Great tips, Gary! I'll definitely check into these...anything to simplify my life!
I didn't realize you were just up the road from me! We need to do an AR get together in the metroplex!