Email Management
Email is an efficient communication tool but can get quite challenging sometimes. Here are some tips to help you be your productive best.
Email is the most convenient and preferred way of communication in today’s world. But as with most technologies, if not used properly, it can hinder your work also. Hundreds of mails come in your inbox but very few are really useful for you. You end up wasting your productive time. So without proper management of mail, you will find yourself whirling in a pool of messages.
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If you are new to the world of email, you can easily get a free email ID from Hotmail, Yahoo, Rediff, Gmail, etc. To keep track of the contacts, you can build an address book. You can send mails to as many recipients as you want by using CC (carbon copy) or BCC (blind carbon copy) option.
Respect other’s time
A lot of people mark everyone on the CC, without thinking whether they really need to see the mail or not. Respect other people’s time. Use the “Reply all” option only for those who really need to read your mail.
Subject Line
The subject line of the mail is an important time saver for the recipient. He can quickly grasp what you are trying to say if you have written the right subject line. Use subject lines that are specific to the topic and you can highlight what it is. For instance you can use words such as urgent, action needed, FYI, reminder, and so on. It’s important to run a spell check before sending out any mail.
Make folders
You might be mailing many different people from different companies. Create folders for companies or people, and create mail rules so that mail from a specific person lands in the right folder. This will keep you mail organised and is a great time saver. Whenever a new mail comes, it will be automatically placed in the right folder and will show as an unread message. But don’t overdo the folders, or it will be a pain trying to track them.
Flag messages
If you get a lot of mail regularly, you might find yourself overlooking replying to some mail or the other. You can flag your unread messages using different colours in your mail program like Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail. These colours will help you take the necessary action on that mail.
Keep it short
No one has the time to read long mails. So keep your mail short and to the point. Use bullet points rather than big paragraphs. You can use simple words and sentences and delete unnecessary words and sentences.
Beware of spam
Unsolicited mail or spam has become a huge problem. Everyday, each person receives a lot of spam. You can use the mail filters or rules in your mail program to sort the messages so that those that contain obnoxious or obscene words can land in the junk or spam folder. Never reply to spam, nor click on links in them, or attachments that come with them. Do not become a spammer either. If want to send bulk messages, contact your mail or Internet service provider and adopt the right process to send out mail to a lot of people at the same time.