As a hard-working professional, you have no doubt recognized time for the precious resource that it is. One of the areas where many people use their time inefficiently is in the way they deal with email messages. Here are some tips on how you can maximize your time management by more adeptly handling your email.
Avoid Planning the Day Around Your Email
By the time you open your first email, you should already have your day scheduled based on your overall goals. This will prevent you from becoming sidetracked by whatever you read in your messages. Make a prioritized to-do list of any requests or needs from your messages, and handle them, depending on their urgency, when you have time.
Respond to Clients Promptly
At the top of your priority list should be answering emails sent by customers. In this digital era, people expect prompt replies to their messages. If you are not able to provide a comprehensive answer immediately, at least let them know you’ll respond more fully later.
Be Succinct
Be as brief as you can when composing replies to emails. Keep your sentences short and get right to the point. You will rarely need to write a message longer than five lines.
Provide Complete Answers
Although answering emails succinctly is a crucial aspect of time management, it is also important to fully answer your correspondent. If they have brought up several points, be sure that you address them all. This will prevent them from sending you further emails asking for clarification.
Send Only to People Who Need to Know
Avoid using the “reply all” option when responding to email messages. Instead, send your answers only to people who need to be involved in the conversation. This will save you from having to open and answer extraneous emails.
Remain Calm
Sometimes you may get an email that upsets you for some reason. If this occurs, it may be counterproductive to reply to it right away. Take a break and calm down. Consider clarifying the other person’s intent by speaking in person or by phone.
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