We've all been there. You open an email, and it's a social media post from your work colleague. You're in the middle of an important conversation with a client, but you see that they've already responded on Facebook to someone else. It's frustrating, right? And it happens all the time: people don't care about their emails. They simply want to complete the task at hand and continue. So, here are some pointers to help you maintain an effective and organized inbox. So you can get more done!
Separate Your Work From Your Personal Email
It’s important to separate your work email from your personal email. If you have a dedicated work account, create an additional email address for incoming inquiries and newsletters that only you can see. This way, if someone asks for your opinion on something or needs assistance with something related to their job. They can contact the appropriate person via their personal inbox instead of yours!
You should also set up filters in Gmail so that any emails sent from people outside of work will go directly into this new account without getting caught up in the clutter in your inbox. This way, no one will ever see anything about what other people are doing unless it relates directly back to their job responsibilities. And even then only if those things aren't off limits for sharing with coworkers!
Follow the Rules
- Don't use your email for personal business. If you're sending an email to someone at the company and they're not in an official capacity. It's probably best to leave it out of your inbox. It's also unprofessional to send emails outside of work hours and on weekends unless there's a specific reason for doing so (like when you're traveling). If you need to send an important message outside of normal business hours or during the weekend. Make sure that everyone knows about it ahead of time. And follow up with everyone who might be affected by its contents!
- Don't use your email for non-work-related messages (or those that are unrelated). This includes anything from personal questions about your own life. Gossiping about other people, political rants, jokes, profanity, marketing pitches. The list goes on! If you want people reading through their inboxes every day and looking forward to finding something interesting then this is not the way forward!
Mind Your Signature
If a signature is going to be effective, it needs to be short and sweet. Don’t include links in your signature. It can lead to confusion and make people feel like they need their own link before they can access the content of your email.
Lastly, don't include any address information such as street address or city name. You're better off typing this out into the body text where everyone can see it instead!
Manage Subscriptions
- Avoid newsletters you don't read. This is the easiest way to ensure your inbox isn’t cluttered with unwanted emails. Unsubscribe from a particular newsletter if you don't want to receive it!
- Unsubscribe from unwanted emails sent by companies that aren't relevant to your interests or needs (e.g., buying products). You can also ask for help if you're unsure about whether or not an email should be considered "unsubscribe-worthy."
- Don't sign up for new email subscriptions (think: daily newsletters) unless they are specifically relevant and useful. For example, if there's an event coming up related to what you do at work then maybe signing up for updates on this topic might make sense. Otherwise, stick with just one medium in which all updates go through directly from your employer rather than via third parties. Such as LinkedIn or Twitter where spam bots can create duplicates of these posts without any personalization whatsoever.
- Don’t use your business email address for personal use: This may seem obvious but many people forget about this important guideline when trying out new technologies. Such as Gmail filters which allow us to access our accounts remotely while still being able to manage them locally on desktop apps like Microsoft Outlook instead!
Use a Checklist!
One of the best ways to manage your inbox is with a checklist. You can use this tool to make sure that you’re not forgetting anything and that everything is accounted for.
It's important to remember that the only way we are going to get more out of our emails is if we take action on the things we need or want from them. So, don't spend time in vain by checking off emails as done when they're not complete yet! Use tools like Google Inbox (or other similar apps) which will help keep track of all incoming messages so that when they come in. There won't be any surprises later down the road when someone asks where something was sent or what happened next after sending it."
An email is an important tool out there, take care of your inbox and get more done!
An email is a great tool for business, but it can be stressful. If you're not using your email properly, you could end up losing important information or getting distracted by the noise in your inbox.
Conclusion
An email is a fantastic tool for staying in touch with loved ones, coworkers, and friends, but it can also be a major time waster. If you find yourself spending more time than you'd like managing your inbox. Try out some of these tips to help you take control of your email and get more out of your day.
