We all have gazillion emails piling up in our mailboxes. We burden ourselves with regular mail copies of emails sent to our colleagues, newsfeeds, event announcements, advertisements, coupons, etc. It clogs our mailboxes and our minds. We need to shift our focus to solutions. The best way to manage emails is a mixture of few practices that result in time management and productivity.
“A survey by Adobe found people in the workplace spend on average 3.1 hours per day sending and checking their emails alone.”
12 tips to choose the best way to manage emails
We receive emails continuously, and managing those emails is an art. The main problem is that our email acts as a to-do list set forth by other people. We adhere to those mails, whereas they are just a medium of communication. Thus, our focus shifts, and work productivity reduces. The solution comes to us when we figure out the best way to manage emails.
SPEND LIMITED HOURS
We certainly spend a lot of time all day checking our emails which is unnecessary and time-consuming. Steady notifications from incoming messages interrupt our workflow and leave us unfocused.
Instead, slot in a few specific hours throughout the day to check the emails. This practice will help in segregating work life and personal life. It is the most straightforward time management technique. Apps like Mailman can help you maintaining a steady email processing schedule.
ACT RIGHT AWAY FOR THE BEST WAY TO MANAGE EMAILS
We procrastinate to respond, archive, and delete our mails. It is often seen that we leave this task until it’s urgent and often forget it. Thus we spend a lot of time thinking about how to act upon an email. It brims our inbox with numerous emails. Instead, we should get upon our emails right away. We should shift the respective emails into the archive or delete and respond whichever is required.
Clearing the inbox is an efficient email management practice. It will leave us with time to spare. This way, we can focus on important emails and prioritize as per needs.
SEGREGATE EMAILS ( FOLDERS, LABELS, AND TAGS)
We have all the emails on our primary window, making our mailbox a big junkyard, where finding anything is difficult. Email apps like Sortd come with the feature of separating emails into different labels and categories. The best way to manage emails is to customize folders, tags, and labels attached to our emails. We can categorize our mails into folders and save up our time from groping through a turbulent mailbox. This practice helps us group, sort, and prioritize all your emails.
UNSUBSCRIBE AND BLOCK
Newsletters and advertisements take up a sizable space in our Inbox. We neither read them nor pay attention to them.
Hence, we should clean the clutter. We should unsubscribe from any newsletter that no longer interests us. We should also block any unwanted promotional emails. This does not take up much time and makes us organize.
DESIGN A TEMPLATE EMAIL
We often receive emails that are of similar kind that require a similar reply. Often, we also observe that our response is homogenous. In this case, generating a template reply is a wise choice. We can write a template beforehand and use it whenever required. It saves us from writing a formal email numerous times and saves time, efficiency. This is an effective time management technique. Apps like Beefree.io allow you to make templates as per your convenience.
NO-TIFICATION
We receive email notifications the whole day without a halt. Our phones keep buzzing with alert tones. This is very distracting and keeps us hooked to our phones. This feature is eventually lowers our productivity as we get distracted with every ring. Turning these notifications off can take care of this major distraction. This small change will save us from decreased productivity and increase our attention towards work.
CLEAR BIN
We put the emails which are not required into the trash and forget about it. Emails are not to stay in our trashcans forever. These emails are recoverable and remain there till deleted completely. So, we should delete these emails at the end of the day or week. This keeps the trashcan clean. We can also modify the settings with which the trashcan will clean itself at regular periods.
MARK FLAG
Some emails are crucial and require a well-thought response. These emails can be critical from the business point of view. The best way to manage emails is through the flag feature. We can flag important emails such that they are set apart. This way, we are aware of emails that require a proper thought process. We can flag these and plan to respond at a particular time. This gives us clarity and keeps us organized.
EMAIL MANAGEMENT TOOLS
There are many tasks that we repeat and are time-consuming. We have tools in our house to help us, similarly having email management tools/ software comes in handy. There are many email management software available that help in managing emails. One of them is MAILMAN, which is our top pick for the best email managemnet software.
Mailman is an email management software that guards us against unimportant emails. It minimizes interruptions and increases productivity for a calmer day. Mailman also works seamlessly with our existing Gmail inbox and client. Thus it makes our inbox a better version of itself. This app enables us to carve out more focus time. We do not dread clearing daily emails anymore. It has many features that maintain our mailbox decluttered and organized.
SEPARATE EMAIL ACCOUNTS
We receive all our emails in one mailbox. This clutters our Inbox, making it difficult to work. Won’t it be easier if we have different mail IDs to segregate our emails? We should have separate mail IDs for convenience. Work-related emails and personal emails will segregate. This is the best email management solution.
NO REPLY IS A REPLY
We get many emails that do not require any reply. No reply is also a reply. In such cases, either delete or archive such emails. However, be cautious of not missing business-related emails. We do not want to affect our business reputation. We can brush aside circular emails or emails that are not in our interest.
CHECK SPAM/ JUNK FOLDERS
Often when we go through spam/ junk folders, we find crucial emails. Emails that the app categorizes as spam might be vital for us. We should keep a check on these folders periodically. It would not take much time and adds value. Some valuable emails that may require a reply might be lying in the spam section.
Often when we go through spam/ junk folders, we find crucial emails. Emails that the app categorizes as spam might be vital for us. We should keep a check on these folders periodically. It would not take much time and adds value. Some valuable emails that may require a reply might be lying in the spam section.
What’s your favorite best way to manage emails?
Email management is a habit that we build over the period. It helps in saving lots of time and optimizing our conversation and business. There is not just one best way to manage emails. We have to use the right tools and keep our mailbox organized. We can incorporate these actions into our daily routine in no time to which the benefits are enticing. These email management strategies help in achieving the manageable level of the Inbox.
FAQs
1. Unsubscribe from newsletters and spam.
2. Make folders and filters to organize your emails.
3. Create inbox rules to manage incoming emails.
4. Get rid of old emails that are now redundant.
1. Remove unnecessary clutter like old emails and spam.
2. Schedule email processing timings.
3. Set a timer to control the time you spend on email management.
4. Convert your emails into a to-do list to handle all tasks better.
You could safely archive emails to never lose them while also emptying your inbox.
1. Delete the spam folder.
2. Unsubscribe from spam and newsletters.
3. Delete or archive old emails to empty your inbox.
