Managing Emails

My clients are always asking me for strategies on managing emails. This info is from a new article in ADDITUDE magazine and is a simple guideline:

Limit Messages

The fewer email messages that come in, the fewer you have to deal with.

• Set e-mail software filters for messages you want to receive, but don’t need to read right away. They will automatically be archived or moved to a folder you designate. To set up a filter in Outlook, choose “Rules and Alerts” from the Tools menu; in Gmail, click “settings” (at the upper right of your screen), then the “filters” tab.

• Mark unwanted e-mails as spam. Future messages from the sender will go to your junk-mail folder.

• Use an e-mail-filtering program to limit access to your inbox. These programs, such as ChoiceMail, automatically approve e-mails from only the senders you know and trust. Unapproved senders will be blocked.

Manage The Messages You Receive

• Resist opening e-mails first thing in the morning.

• Don’t allow others to set your agenda. Set a schedule to attend to e-mail -- a half-hour before lunch and a half-hour before you leave for the day.

• Turn off the e-mail notification function. Having attention called to each new message is a distraction that ADD adults don’t need.

• Limit follow-up e-mails. Create a subject line that lets the recipient know exactly what your message is about.

• Respond to any e-mail that requires a brief response as soon as you open it. Don't put it off to re-read later.

• Mark e-mails that require an action. You’ll be able to quickly find the action items later on.

• Empty your inbox every day. Old e-mails that require no immediate action distract you from more important e-mails that require your attention.