Adult businesswoman working at home using computer, studying business ideas on a pc screen on-line
Here’s a statement you’ll agree with: “Allowing you to be in constant contact, email plagues the workplace with its inappropriate use and uncontrollable volume.” — Penny Jones, Technology & Business Magazine. What may surprise you is that the quote is from 2005. Nothing has changed in twelve years.
More recently, studies have shown the average worker spends 12 hours a week writing, reading, sorting and deleting email. The typical office professional receives 60 emails per day. Sixty-two percent of people check work email on weekends. Yes, the volume is uncontrollable.
One way to get a handle on your email is to look at it as a time management problem. How can you deal with the volume faster and more efficiently?
Time management experts say two of the best ways you can control the time you spend on email is to 1) shut off automatic email alerts, and 2) limit the number of times you check email in the course of the day.
Automatic email alerts might seem efficient, but throughout the day they add up to a stream of distractions. How many emails pop up that are truly urgent and need to be dealt with instantly?
A 2014 University of British Columbia study found the average person checks their email 15 times a day. And the study found that continually switching into and out of email taxes the mind’s ability to focus and adds to daily stress. Researchers discovered when people limited their email checking to three times a day, it dramatically reduced their stress (although it took them a while to re-train themselves.)
In the real world of work, three times a day might be unrealistic – but the point is don’t check your emails as they roll in. One technique is to do a few brief check-ins (10 minutes maximum) during the day and answer only those emails that are urgent or take you less than two minutes to answer. Then set aside a scheduled hour to deal with the emails that require focus and problem solving.
In addition to controlling the time you spend on emails, there are a number of ways you can make the use of email more efficient for both you and your readers:
- Don’t copy others unless you are certain they will be glad you did.
- Don’t hit “reply all”, unless you are certain every person on the list will be glad you did.
- Reply in a helpful way or not at all. Sending an email that says, in its entirety, “yes” is not always helpful.
- Avoid forwarding an ongoing series of emails that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Write a new email.
- Reply to long emails by annotating the original in a second color. (In most email systems, you can do this by forwarding the marked-up email to the sender and yourself.)
- Ask yourself, could I answer this question more quickly with a phone call?
Finally, write great subject lines. A great subject line tells the reader what’s inside and makes the email easy to find later.
Research says the best length for a subject line is 6–10 words. Shorter lines can make the message too terse. “Update” really doesn’t say much. Longer subject lines announce that you are about to add to your reader’s email overload.
A common practice is to add a prefix to your subject line – for example, Urgent, Action Required, Important Deadline. But don’t overdo it. If you use them too often, they’ll lose their impact.
The best technique to help you write meaningful subject lines is to note the purpose of the email in the subject line. Use the preposition “for”. “New travel guidelines for your review” is better than “Travel guidelines”. “Package at reception for pickup” is better than “Package”.
The final goal is to manage your email so it doesn’t manage you – so that you can do meaningful work that goes well beyond clearing your inbox.
