I remember a time when email was even better than sliced bread. Suddenly all my friends and colleagues were only a second or two away, regardless of where they were in the world. I didn’t have to worry about catching the post, leaving voice mails or ever struggling to communicate with anyone again.
Cut to the present day: Your inbox is filled with spam – most of it from fellow colleagues, your cc’d of everything from ordering the milk to ordering a new server, you regularly miss important emails because your inbox in sucking the will to live out of you and you just can’t bear to go there anymore. In short email sucks.
Here are 10 things that have helped me get a grip on email maddness.
1. Start Again
Chances are you have a lot of crap in your mail box and you can’t see the wood for the trees. Create a new “ground zero” folder and drag everything into in now!
2. Abandon your folder structure
Your email has a search function. This means you don’t need some amazing, complex folder structure. Getting rid of that means you don’t need to ponder each email to decide where it belongs.
3. Create a “To Do” folder
This is just for those email that are going to take more brain power than you currently have available to answer. Make sure you empty it every day or your troubles will soon return)
4. Get an “Archive” folder
Most of the emails you receive can be deleted. You do not need to keep everything, everyone sends you. Be bold, delete the rubbish and Archive only those emails that you will definitely need again.
5. Empty your inbox regularly
I really owe Merlin Mann a huge thank you for his “Inbox Zero” strategy. It’s simple, every time you go to your inbox process it to zero. Train yourself to answer mails quickly, and succinctly. Delete everything you don’t need and if it’s going to take more than two lines to answer drag it into “To Do” for later in the day.
6. To the point
Don’t be afraid to get straight to the point – it’s not rude and it will be appreciated. Develop a fast, efficient style of writing and replying that gets rid of the fluff. Accept that email actually works – you don’t need to follow up every mail with another enquiring if the first was received.
7. Don’t perpetuate the madness.
Don’t forward on rubbish, jokes, spam or anything else likely to ruin the day of your colleagues.
8. CC or not CC
Please stop copying me in on everything. Be careful who you cc – is it really necessary?
9. Avoid Email conversations
Talking is for the phone (or maybe msn if you really have issues) msn style conversations by email just don’t work.
10. Use the phone
It’s good talk to talk – we should do more of it before we forget how.
