With the ease of mobile, always-connected email comes the heavy burden of having to sift through hundreds of messages and determine which emails need an immediate response and which can wait. And of course, there’s the elusive dream of getting to inbox zero.
Email takes up 28 percent of a worker’s time, according to a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute and International Data Corp.
Startups like Inbox are attempting to build a next generation email platform, but until someone comes up with a new email standard, here are some best practices to try to reduce the overwhelming amount of clutter in your inbox:
If your email requires a timely response, put "response needed" in the subject line.
Also, remember to change the subject line to reflect the conversation taking place. If you’ve moved on from scheduling a meeting to discussing the agenda topics, change time to agenda in the subject line so readers know it contains new information.
Your response should be brief and to the point as well, and be sure to respond to everything that was requested. That will keep the sender from having to send you a follow-up email.
Now, think about how much time you just saved everyone. Rossi concurs, saying hitting “reply all” makes you look unprofessional and lazy, and not considerate of other people’s time.
Post suggests setting a timer to only get emails at certain times of the day. Take a look first thing in the morning and scan for anything truly urgent that’s come in. Then work on your to-do list for the day. An hour or so later, tend to those emails that are important and move projects along by sending responses, keeping them brief and simple.
Some are fearful of not watching email every moment in case they miss something urgent. Experts agree email should only be used for super urgent requests as a last resort. Post advices: “if you have something urgent, pick up the phone and call.”
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