Tips for Email Management
My friend’s heart skips a beat when she hears “you’ve got mail” but that’s because her marriage started in a long distance romance where she received daily emails from her then adoring beau, now her husband. For most of us when we open our email inbox, our heart skips a beat as we think “how many this time?!” You don’t have to fret over email.
Here are some tips for email success.
Stay focused. Shut your office door. It’s a low tech solution and one way to get through a batch of emails. If you are in a cubicle put a ribbon across the entry or post a do not disturb sign right out front. Working in an open office can be even trickier-try putting in your ear buds and using some signal or sign to co-workers that you are not available.
Decrease your frequency. Are you checking emails throughout the day at work? Curb that habit and decrease the frequency to check and respond to emails. Try moving to just checking 4 times a day-twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Then work to minimize it to once or twice a day.
Increase your speed. You need to be typing at 50-75 words per minute. If you’re not, try some fun games and apps that will increase your typing speed so that you can be more productive. My favorite is Mavis Beacon http://www.broderbund.com/c-33-mavis-beacon.aspx. The program has awesome games and typing tests along the way so you can monitor your success.
Employ these techniques and make some small changes to the way you handle email. You’ll worry less and get more done. With the freed up time, you can do some of the things you love like being in the garden, spending time with family, or just taking a nap.
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer, with Wave Productivity and works with entrepreneurs, small business owners and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized and productive in their workplace. She coaches by phone nationally and in person in Phoenix, Providence and Boston. If you would like help in handling emails more effectively, call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected] for an appointment.