Emails are great…emails are also the bane of the business owner. It’s a never ending flurry of enquires, orders or ‘junk’ emails. In my previous ‘life’ I probably dealt with around 400+ emails per day as I worked on 3 different projects so it was a constant battle. In less time that it takes to make a cup of tea, I’d come back to my desk to some 20+ emails. I feel therefore that I am somewhat of an ’email expert’ and thought I’d pass over some tips I’ve learnt over the years.
Get Organised
Whatever you find easiest – do it! I’ve got folders set up for all of my clients that once I’ve dealt with the enquiry, the email gets moved. I know some people have different folders for ‘immediate action’, ‘respond later’ and ‘to read’. This also means that the emails that are remain in your inbox are your ‘to do list’. Find a system that works for you.
Switch off Notifications
That annoying little envelope popping up in the corner of outlook to tell you yet another email has landed. It’s taken me a LONG time to ignore it and carry on with what I’m doing. I started to switch my notifications off and then allocate a specific time to check them. If you don’t feel you can’t allocate a specific slot then at least you can finish the task at hand and then jump back into the emails.
Template Responses
If you review the emails you send, it may be that more often than not, you’re repeating the same information. Take some time to set up template emails that you can use time and time again to save retyping out the same information.
One Minute Rule
Does the email warrant a quick response (without being rude!). If you can reply in less than a minute, do so – if it involves a little more consideration, leave it until you’ve got the time to respond properly.
Unsubscribe!
How many times do we register for something and then 3 years later we’re still getting weekly emails that we religiously delete. Use an app such as @unrollme to help you unsubscribe. I did this recently on my personal email address and I’ve halved the amount of traffic coming through.
Hopefully you’ve managed to pick up something from this list. Don’t forget though, if the emails gets too much – you can pop your out of office on letting people know that you will respond within 24 or 48 hours.
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