Small behaviors that save you from wasting time on emails over time can have a significant impact. Learn today how to make this better.
As a busy professional, you are aware of how overwhelming it can be to continually hear your computer pinging and alerting you to new messages arriving in your inbox.
We're here to help you redesign your attitude to email, whether you have trouble responding to emails immediately or spend so much time answering that you ignore other duties.
So how can you save time with your email? We’ll give you our hacks!
1. Don’t Use Email for Everything
Do you find the concept of "inbox zero" to be unrealistic? Do you feel as though emails arrive more quickly than you can read, open, and delete them?
You may have a cluttered inbox as a result of using email as your go-to tool.
You may use it to share papers, provide project updates, arrange appointments, and keep track of projects and to-do lists.
If you exclusively use email, your inbox will fill up with hundreds of messages. This is not only daunting, but it also shows poor organizational and team management skills.
It is advisable to use several tools for various requirements.
Use a calendar app to set up appointments, a task management tool to manage to-do lists and assign work, and project management software to establish goals and track advancement.
2. Turn Off Notifications
It's difficult to ignore the all-too-familiar pinging sound that signals a new email has arrived.
Yes, that ping could just include a discount code good for 15% off a purchase at your preferred shop. However, it can also be a communication from your supervisor informing you of their thoughts on your most recent report.
You have to pause what you're doing and check if you want to find out.
If you only have this issue once or twice per day, it might not be a huge deal. But keep in mind that the typical person receives over a hundred texts every day.
Jumping to your email to see if the message you just received was significant is a waste of a lot of time.
To cut down on time-wasting email checking:
- On your PC and phone, turn off email notifications.
- Set aside time each day to check your emails within designated blocks of time.
You'll be able to focus better and experience less FOMO anxiety as a result.
3. Follow the Two-Minute Rule for Responses
Some people have trouble concentrating and waste time reading their emails.
On the other hand, some people struggle to find the time to read and reply to emails. They failed to respond to messages for several hours, days, or even weeks.
If you fall into the latter category, you could think about abiding by the two-minute guideline during email block times.
The two-minute rule suggests that you should reply to messages if it takes two minutes or less.
Take a look at the latest emails you've received. How many of those demanded thorough answers?
Many of these most likely only required a straightforward "yes," "no," or "check with my assistant."
You may swiftly delete these messages from your inbox by adhering to the two-minute rule. Additionally, it enables you to maintain contact with your clients and coworkers, ensuring that nobody is left in the dark.
4. Create a Junk Email Address
Since many of your emails are spam (coupons, sales pitches, demands for money from Nigerian princes, etc.), many of them don't even require a response.
Try setting up a second "junk" email account if you're frequently inundated with spam.
When registering for forums, websites, or publications that you might or might not read, use that other address.
Creating a different email account will help you keep your inbox organized. Additionally, it lessens the possibility that you would overlook crucial communications since they were buried under garbage.
5. Use Email Filters
Your buddies are the filters! Not the Instagram filters that hide your under-eye bags. Email filters are the topic of discussion.
Someone who claims they hardly ever or never become overwhelmed by email is probably using filters to keep themselves organized.
Filters are personalized rules you make to organize the messages in your email inbox.
A filter that automatically highlights communications from your most crucial clients, for instance, may be made. Alternatively, one that instantly places emails from specified team members in a particular folder.
It is true that creating filters might take some time.
Making it a habit, though, may help you keep organized, discover essential messages more quickly, and save you a ton of time in the future.
6. Send Fewer Emails
Sending fewer emails is sometimes the greatest method to avoid receiving a lot of emails and having to deal with as many messages every day.
It might be time to reconsider your strategy if you have a tendency to send an email for every idea that comes to mind.
Consider if you truly need to send the email before you send it.
Don't feel compelled to reply to emails that don't immediately affect you.
For instance, if you are CC'd on a message, you might be able to get away with reading the message, placing the information in the appropriate folder, and continuing.
7. Unsubscribe Often
Why do they keep emailing me, you think as you sighly survey your inbox. Their teachings no longer resonate with me. You just delete the email after that. Can you identify with this situation?
Simply removing mails from unrelated senders won't solve the issue. They are still able to reach you.
On the other hand, by routinely unsubscribing from these senders, you decrease the volume of irrelevant emails that reach your inbox.
Ask yourself whether you shouldn't immediately unsubscribe if you notice yourself constantly deleting communications from a sender without opening them.
Wrapping Up
Given that it may take some time to develop new habits, it would be worthwhile to attempt one (or more) of these simple tricks right now.
You'll soon witness how quickly they can transform your email approach.
Don't forget to experiment with productivity tools as well, like Curiosity, to speed up your email searches and make it easier for you to locate crucial information quickly.
Do you use any additional email strategies that we missed? Comment below and tell us about it!