Email Management - Tips from a Professional Organizer

 


Email Management - Tips from a Professional Organizer


I am sure we all can relate to the struggle in the volume of emails and messages we get, am I right? My hand is raised! There are days when the ping of a new email/message notification really triggers something in me and causes me to stress and experience some anxiety. However, I am really working on NOT letting this happen and I am feeling the change from the work I am putting in. It is not perfect all the time, as each day differs, but more and more, this feeling is getting increasingly manageable. 


How am I doing this? While there is no one size fits all solution, here is what I am practicing and finding to be super helpful: 


  • Unsubscribe to anything that is not relevant to you - do this as they come in and are saying to yourself, why am I getting this email? 
  • Create folders/files for those important and dealt with items that need to be kept - really think about what needs to be kept, as you don’t want to contribute to building up digital clutter - ask yourself some questions:
    • Can I find it online?
    • Can I request this information? 
    • What is the worst that could happen if I deleted it? 
  • Answer those yes or no emails right away, the one minute rule is great to follow here. If it will take less than one minute, do it right away so they don’t pile up. 
  • If an email requires specific answers and more time and thought to respond, and you are busy - mark it unread and then go back to it when you can take the time to read and respond to the whole email and its requests. This will save you and the person on the other end time, I promise! 
  • If an email is something about scheduling - pencil it in right away, because you will forget! Then set up a reminder or two if you need to prep things in advance for the scheduled item.
  • Maybe you have too many message apps on your phone, can you streamline any of them? For me, what works is actually keeping my email off my phone. I set aside time in the day to check them, work and personal, that way I can give what comes in my full focus, when I am sitting down, at my computer specially to check emails.
  • Schedule time in your day to deal with emails to avoid constantly checking them all day. You will know you have a blocked time for emails each day by doing this - while it’s hard at first, the more you do it, the more of a habit it becomes and it is truly a game changer! 


Try different tips and tricks until you find your own rhythm. Everything looks a bit different for different people, because our lives have different types of work and priorities. I do however, encourage you to try all or some of these practices and see how they work for you, you might be surprised at how you feel after a while!



Thank you for reading! 

Kristen 

Professional Organizer

KAS KONCEPTS - Helping you get and stay organized! 

W: https://kaskoncepts.godaddysites.com


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