We are constantly inundated with emails and some are overwhelmed with the number they see in their inbox.
There are a lot of options on how to approach your plunder when trying to manage emails. The key is to detach yourself from the emotions. Take a ‘healthier’ approach by implementing some simple solutions to dumping the stress and managing things in a realistic and practical sense.
Focus on email organisation and inbox administration by creating folders and filters to understand what to distinguish as a priority. Also, find the patience within yourself by knowing that you will come to deal with all that is not important at a later stage.
There is no need to feel emotional if you cannot respond to every query that pings in your inbox. So let it go. Everyone feels overwhelmed at times, however, focusing on the worry of what you need to do will not get things done. Be practical and form a strategy that you know will work for you and not against you.
Most have complications when trying to find a time and the right method to achieve this unless they go through all of the contents of their inbox.
So here are five easy tips to help you manage stress and time when dealing with an overwhelming amount of emails.
•Pause and reflect – Read messages from familiar email addresses. You can handle the ones that you are expecting to hear from. You can come back to the other bulk of unfamiliar subjects at a later stage or not at all.
•Time Management – Accept the fact that you will not be able to go through every email or take action immediately. Compartmenlise those that are priority spending only a few minutes glancing over the subject line of importance. Any area that needs focus can be ‘flagged’ or highlighted for a later stage.
•Less is more- When sending emails or responses, know that it is okay to have the main points addressed in bullet points. It is easy to express the main points and save yourself time without absorbing unnecessary information. The response needs to be short, precise and deal with the issue- nothing more.
•Be honest and realistic – It is so important to be realistic and honest by knowing what you expect to achieve. The expectation of response for those who may accept an email can be set up with an autoreply. This will not only give you time to review, but it will lessen the pressure of having to respond immediately.
To avoid repetitive junk email, block addresses you are not familiar to.
Overall, one should implement mini-steps to everyday emails and know there are tools to assist you in handling the email inbox. For example, auto-reply is the most effective and efficient and is great to use when it is time to switch off from work. Using an organised process of re-routing and filtering is also adequate and the best way to kill the inbox notification in your mind.