The Email Jungle - 10 Tactics
To Help You Tame Your Email Problems
By Jo Gibney
Can’t cope with the e-mail overload? Having nightmares
about e-mails stalking you through the corporate jungle? Waking in the middle of the night with the sweats because you accidentally
sent that dirty joke to your boss instead of your work mate?
Don’t despair! Here are 10 tips that will restore
your sanity, improve your reputation as a professional communicator and put you back in control of your mail. E-mail is one
of those necessary evils, like credit cards and mobile phones. We can’t live with them, and today’s society won’t
let us live without them. The answer? Learn to do it better, smarter and faster. Read on to change your e-mail blues forever.
1. Control your urge to respond immediately
Only check your email two or three times a day. Opening
every email as it arrives distracts you from the task at hand. Having broken your chain of thought, it may take hours to get
back on track.
In today’s world of global communication, we often bow to the pressures of immediacy. But
before you get caught up, ask yourself this question “What will really happen if I don’t see every email as it
hits my computer?” Twice a day is sufficient. Go on, live dangerously and turn off the “notify me” option
on your email software. Do it – now!
2. Don’t use groups to send all your emails
We are
all complaining about the sheer number of emails that hit our computers every day. Most of them are a complete waste of time,
but we have to open them to find this out! And when you use standard groups to send emails –through laziness, to cover
yourself so they can’t say they weren’t told, or because you just like to tell everyone everything – you
add to this over-supply of useless emails.
Emails are a communication system and should be used to do just that
– communicate. You wouldn’t invite the entire department to a meeting if you just wanted to talk to 2 or 3 people
would you? Use the same logic when it comes to email. Your colleagues will thank you for it. And if you pass on this tip to
them, your own in-box may lose some weight too. If you do think it necessary to send emails to a group, then mark the email
clearly with either “for your action” or “for your information only” in the subject line so the recipients
can easily determine its priority and choose when to open it.
3. Avoid the reply-reply-reply merry-go-round
Have you had a ride on this merry-go-round? By the time you reach the tenth reply, you have changed the subject or
lost the thread of thought completely. Here’s what to do to keep some order.
If the subject changes at all,
then send a new email using a new subject title. Remember, the subject title should say it all, and give the recipient a clear
and concise idea of what your message is about. If the subject is still the same, but only some sections of the chain remain
relevant, cut and paste the relevant sections of the original message into a new message. For long messages, type your reply
in a different colour, in the body of the original message – this helps to identify what section of the message you
are replying to. For short messages and short replies, set your software to type replies in a different colour.
4. Use signature blocks to save time
Most email software allows you to design a number of signature blocks (texts
which sign off using any words you like). You could create one for external customers, using a more formal farewell, your
job title, your phone/fax details and a company slogan or message of the month.
For internal emails, you could
create a signature block with an informal farewell, just your first name and some fun sign off. (Yes, it is OK to have fun
at work, even when dealing with the dreaded email system!)
5. Use folders to organise your correspondence
Why do you keep any of your emails? So you can access them if and when you need to – right? But how often have
you tried to find a particular email and 45 minutes later you are still wading through files, ready to throw your computer
through the nearest window?
Just like letters used to be filed in various filing cabinets in the dim, distant
past, similarly emails should be filed on your computer’s hard drive. Create folders, which make sense to you eg “customers”,
“suppliers”, “departments” may make sense to Jo Bloggs, but you might prefer “my regular customers”,
“boss stuff”, or “easy to reach suppliers”.
File “skinny”
not “fat”. That means put fewer emails in each folder, and use more folders. This will make it easier to retrieve
the email you’re looking for, especially if you get a lot of mail on one topic. And remember to create a “read
later” file for the emails marked “for your info only” which you will be receiving from now on.
Use your archive function to keep your folders a manageable size. Apply archive dates by folder, so you can choose to keep
frequently accessed information for longer periods, and archive less important information more often. This helps the retrieval
process enormously.
6. Think (and cool off) before hitting the reply button
Emails are often like
conversations, but with time between each speaker. Use this time effectively. If the message sets your blood boiling, the
temptation is to hit the reply button immediately with an equally inflammatory retort. Don’t! Take time to consider
what you are saying. Unlike the spoken word, the written word can be forever.
7. Not all emails
deserve a response
Emails, though often likened to a telephone conversation in slow motion, are nothing of the
sort. They are the same as all correspondence, with new rules of etiquette and new levels of access and speed. Unlike telephone
conversations, not all emails need, or expect, a response.
You neither have to acknowledge receipt of all messages,
nor have the last word on a chain of reply-reply messages. The original sender probably didn’t expect a reply, and you
have just added to their already substantial list of emails for that day. Unless you are asked for a reply or a specific action,
or you must advise the recipient of some vital piece of additional information, do not reply. Be discriminating with your
reply button, and everyone will be the better off.
8. Group incoming email for more efficient reading
You spend a significant amount of time opening and reading email every day. Time which you can better spend on more direct
work activities. One way to use this time more efficiently is to file your emails before you even open them, so you can decide
on which ones need urgent opening, and which ones could wait till you have a spare fifteen minutes.
Most email software allows you to set rules for incoming emails. The system will direct emails into folders you have
set up, depending on the rules you apply. For example, you could set up folders based on words contained in the subject matter
or the address of the sender or key words in the message text. Once the incoming emails have been sorted for you, you can
choose when to open the emails, based on the importance of each folder. This same process can be used for outgoing emails,
so that you can automatically file into folders you created in point 5 earlier. Check your email software for this and other
time saving options.
9. Make sure you are legal
This is a major topic! A whole new industry has been
spawned to keep watch over the legality of email transmissions. Simply put, take extra care when sending words which have
not been authored by you, including the common practice of “forwarding” messages sent to you. Copyright on email
belongs to the writer, not the recipient. If you have any doubt about forwarding another person’s message – then
don’t.
10. Filter messages to get rid of unwanted bulk mail
Again, use the features of your
email software to help remove bulk or junk mail before it reaches your in box. Most software will allow you to filter out
junk mail based on options such as blocking BCC (blind copies), blocking mail from certain addresses (lists created by you
or your organisation), colour coding junk mail so you can recognise it or moving junk mail into separate folders so you can
deal with it later.
Once again, it is a matter of knowing what your software can do (usually we use only 20% of
software capacity!!!) and using it to save us time, effort and energy.
One final Word Finally, think before turning
to email. Email is often seen as informal communication - quick, efficient and immediate. But to many (especially those whose
careers began pre the email revolution) email is not the medium for well-mannered communication.
Before you send an email, ask yourself what is the recipient expecting. In some cases, snail mail is a better option, especially
if speed is not the primary issue. Examples where traditional mail is better include:
* Client presentations or
proposals
* Formal requests or invitations
* References
* Bulky correspondence (eg reports)
* When you are trying to make a good impression
Email can be either a blessing or a curse of the modern
workplace. Either take control over your email jungle by applying these ten tips or keep cursing each time another email hits
your inbox. The choice is yours!
Jo Gibney is seminar leader, group facilitator, professional speaker, writer
and HR Consultant. Her commitment to adult learning is a life long passion, and much of Jo’s work focuses on developing
not just work skills but also personal competencies and strengths. Check out Jo's websites at
http://www.organisenow.com and
http://www.dragonslayers.com.au Article Source:
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