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Introduction
Email remains one of the main business communication tools in the digital age. It is a powerful working tool. A lot of communication with the outside world happens via email. According to statistics, the average worker spends 28% of their workday managing business emails. So, being proficient with this tool can make your life much easier. Here are some handy recommendations on how to manage email.
Work instead of checking your email every minute
Constantly checking your email is a recipe for being unproductive. Set aside a specific time when you only handle email. Let it be an hour in the morning, after lunch, or at the end of the workday. Just be sure to notify your boss and colleagues about your schedule. This is much more convenient than constantly checking your email and wasting precious time.
Use organizers
When processing your mail, keep a weekly planner ready and write the information from the letters into it. It is convenient to use paper-based notebooks or digital tools. It is up to you to decide. Yet, digital services like Google Calendar have more advantages. It helps better process correspondence with task assignments, as well as, contains information about meetings and events. As a result, you will not forget anything. You will receive a notification at the right time. In addition, you will save yourself the trouble of going back and re-reading.
Due to its valuable features, millions of people use the Google Calendar app to stay on top of their plans. However, it might be a problem for Mac users because there is no Google Calendar for Mac OS. If you do not know how to get Google Calendar on Mac, you can use some of the following methods. Firstly, it is possible to utilize the Unite app. It is used to turn any website or service into native MacOS. Secondly, you can make Google Calendar shortcuts using Google Chrome or Safari. Thirdly, you can add Google Calendar to Apple Calendar. All the methods are efficient and manageable. If you face any troubles, remember that you can always use Google Calendar alternatives.
Respond to the letter immediately
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If you have started sorting through your mail, immediately decide what to do with a particular letter after reading it, and implement your plan. Do not put this off for too long. To make your high volume email sending well planned and organized, you can:
- read the information in the letter and send it to the Trash as irrelevant or not requiring any response from you;
- mark the letter as spam so that in the future letters from this addressee will not bother you;
- move this message to a specific folder according to the subject;
- add the event specified in the letter to the calendar;
- download the attached files to your personal computer and read them;
- confirm your participation in the event or the fact of familiarization with the letter (if required).
The main thing is that the letter does not remain without a response and is not stored in the Inbox folder, an eyesore, and clutters up the mail. If you haven’t had time to process some of your correspondence during the day, leave it unread and start working on it in the morning.
Use spam filters – they are great “guys”
It is the best way to manage email from a suspicious sender. The work of mail agents is based on rules, according to which some incoming correspondence automatically ends up in the Spam folder. Most often, this happens due to malicious links, attached files, or letters from unreliable sources.
You can manually add rules for this folder. It will save you and your manager time in the future. You will not have to respond to such correspondence and open it.
For example, if you do not want to receive letters with commercial offers or suspicious acquaintances, specify this in the conditions for the Spam or Junk Mail folder.
Direct emails to the right folders
You can create a condition by which correspondence from certain addresses will be sent to the desired folder automatically – bypassing the Inbox. Do not be afraid of missing an important message. Even if the letter ends up in a folder other than the Inbox, it will still be highlighted in bold and with a number. For example, you can create a condition by which all correspondence awaiting review will be marked with this typeface.
You can set the parameters for the desired folder in the Settings section.
Use markers and labels
If the program allows you to make visual marks on the letter, use it. For example, you received a message with an assignment that needs to be completed today. Put a red flag or a star next to it, or highlight it in the same color. This way, among all the assignments in the list of letters, you will see urgent ones.
If you want important letters (e.g. from the manager, from the head office, etc.) to be highlighted in some way when received, set up their display accordingly. Use the rule for processing incoming correspondence. The “Important!” labels will be placed on letters from these recipients automatically.
Conclusion
Once you have organized your business emails – created a set of folders, set rules for filling them, unsubscribe from mailings, and deleted unnecessary letters – you will feel how much easier it has become for you to work. Order in electronic documents is comparable to tidiness on your desktop: you do not stumble upon unnecessary items, do not store garbage, or do not spend an hour looking for the necessary file in a pile of papers. Do a general cleaning of your mail right now. And then maintain it constantly.