For many young adults entering the professional workforce, the ability to successfully manage email can be daunting. If not correctly managed, important emails can wind up at the bottom of one’s inbox, which may lead to a late reply or missed opportunity.
Managers, business partners, and customers also expect people to master email because so much business is conducted over the platform. According to Reuters, Adobe Systems, Inc. conducted a poll of 400 white-collar professionals and found that, on average, they spent 6.2 hours per day checking and sending emails, 3.2 of which were dedicated to work emails alone. Assuming that folks work 40 hours per week, this means they are spending an average of 16 hours weekly managing email. Because so much time is spent each week on email, developing good habits is exceedingly beneficial.
Given this, I decided to ask my colleagues at Communiqué PR for their tips on managing email. Here are their suggestions
Create and Use Folders
Folders are a great way to be organized in email. Some people prefer to create folders organized by subject, client or required action. For example, Zach Hanlon, a marketing and sales expert, was experiencing email overload. After speaking with his best friend (who works at a major consulting firm), he adopted a simple, yet effective strategy and set up just five folders: Inbox, Today, This Week, This Month/Quarter, and FYI. Then, he filed his emails into the various folders based on when he needed to act on them. (He details his approach in Fast Company.)
Personally, I’ve chosen to organize my folders by inbox and our list of clients. The bottom line is you need to come up with a system that best fits your needs and helps you to stay organized.
Respond in a Timely Fashion
Timing and organization are everything, and being responsive to email demonstrates you are punctual and that you view the sender’s email as a priority. Most clients and colleagues expect a response to their email within 24 hours, at the latest. Even if you can’t immediately start or respond to a request, it is a good practice to reply and let the sender know that you have received the message to avoid leaving people in the dark. By practicing good email etiquette, you are more likely to establish effective working relationships that are conducive to your overall success.
A popular tool to help you manage email when you’re out of the office is an automated response. An automated response may be used for certain occasions such as vacation days, sick days, or other blocks of time when you anticipate being unavailable. Communication is an important aspect of business, and by setting up an automated response you are still actively in contact with clients and colleagues even when not available. However, you’ll want to restrict its use because the recipient may perceive that his or her email is a lower priority or that communication with you may be difficult.
Another interesting idea is to put your out-of-office details, such as vacation days or meetings, in your signature so it is clear when you may be unavailable. This enables you to remind people in advance of your absence, which most people appreciate because it allows them to plan.
Be Concise
In the business world, time is of the essence, and maximizing your time and work output is paramount for success. When composing emails, communicating clearly while keeping the email brief is important, which is why the “One Thing” rule by David Masters, a professional blogger and writer, is so useful.
According to Masters, when composing emails it is best to limit yourself to writing about one subject at a time. When trying to discuss multiple subjects, the email may become too long and confusing. By sticking to one subject, you can begin to take a step in the right direction toward brevity and clarity.
Another great tip is to follow the idea of five sentences or less in an email. Usually, anything under the five-sentence mark comes off as abrupt, while more than five sentences is deemed too long. In email, you should be able to achieve your overall goal within the five sentence limit. Within these five sentences, the main questions that should be answered, according to Guy Kawasaki, a chief evangelist for Canva and brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz, are: Who are you? What do you want? Why are you asking me? Why should I do what you’re asking? And, lastly, what is the next step? By sticking to these five questions, you will be able to write clear and concise emails, which is a valuable skill to have in the business world.
For more on how to craft a perfect email, check out this article: “The Experts’ Guide to the Ever-Elusive Perfect Email”.
Concluding Thoughts
There are many ways to handle a high volume of emails, and some methods may work better than others. For those who have not tried these tips, I recommend incorporating them into your daily email routine.