Email management is a universal task in today’s world, but when your inbox gets full, it can become overwhelming and stall productivity. Use these six tips for keeping pace with your inbox so you can live a more balanced, productive life.
Don’t Check It. Schedule It: Think of email like snail mail. Don’t check it constantly and react to every message streaming into your inbox. Set aside time to work on it two or three times a day when your energy is too low to take on larger projects.
Do It Tomorrow: Because email is similar to snail mail, most messages do not need an immediate response. Instead, practice “yesterbox,” a technique for responding to email that arrived the day before. Emails requiring urgent attention can be handled with a phone call.
Signal a Boundary: When you do respond to emails, add a signature line that lets readers know your regular response times. Add a line to encourage them to call rather than email with emergencies.
Keep It Short and Clear: An email doesn’t need to be lengthy. In fact, it should be no more than three short paragraphs. Send email when you are clear-headed and can set aside emotions. This will help you stick to action verbs, set deadline dates, and provide instruction without long emotional tirades.
Be Choosy: Be mindful of other people’s inboxes and don’t hit “reply all.” Figure out who needs the information you plan to send and send it just to those people.
Get Help: Still feeling overwhelmed? Call a professional productivity coach to help you find solutions and balance. Wave Productivity has a new package for people struggling with email management.
Get in control of your inbox and your email. This package includes an assessment to understand your challenges and create a plan on ways you can manage email. We work together to address your challenges. You’ll learn techniques to control your inbox. Follow up through coaching calls and email will help solidify your new habits and keep you on track.
Package Includes:
- 30 minute assessment and vision planning over phone
- 2 hrs in a face to face session to address challenges
- 1 hour of coaching to follow up
- 2 follow up emails to keep on track
- Bonus list of tips and techniques to use
Contact Margo Crawford at 602-677-8275 to book your appointment and change the way you keep pace with your email.
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer with Wave Productivity. She works with entrepreneurs, small business owners, and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized, and productive in their workplace. She serves Phoenix, Providence and Boston with in person sessions and phone coaching nationally. If you struggle with email management call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected].