7 Ways to Handle Email Efficiently

I was mentioned in the Globe and Mail today. Harvey Schachter writes about E-overload and handling email volume:

"Julie Morgenstern suggested in The Wall Street Journal that people's workloads are so intimidating now that they use e-mail as an escape: "It gives you a false sense of accomplishment."

This is a scary thought.

Jim Estill's 7 ways to Handle Email Efficiently

We all deal with the challenges of email volume. The key is to handle it efficiently.

1 - Have a great filtering system. Many of my emails are automatically filtered to go to a certain subfolder. I subscribe to a number of email publications and newsletters. These automatically go to a folder that I can then read at my leisure.

2 - Use a spam filter. Despite having a good spam filter, I still get spam. Although the volume of spam can seem daunting, it is actually very easy and fast to delete. Unlike real email that can take real time to respond to, spam can be easily deleted in less than 2-3 seconds.

3 - Have a slush file. Some emails, I think I might need to reference at a later date. I simply put these in a Nov07 or Dec07 subfolder. If I do end up referring to it, I move it forward to the current subfolder. If not, I can delete my slush folders after a few months. If I have not looked at it in a few months, it cannot be that important.

4 - Have a To Do folder and a Pending folder. This is where I put the emails that need to be done or the ones waiting on action from others or that just need checking. By having the slush folder and these 2 folders, I end up with a clean inbox.

5 - If I can deal with an email in 2 minutes, I deal with it when it arrives. When I am rushed, this time might compress to 30 seconds or even might become "emergency scanning" in 5 seconds. If I am more relaxed, I might expand the time to 5 minutes. It is easier and faster to just deal with the email than to file it and look at it again.

6 - Send less email. Not positive I agree with this tip although it is true that sending email causes email to be sent to you. The reason I am not positive I agree with this is sending email often is the way to get action and I am very big on action and sense of urgency.

7 - Have a Blackberry. Even if I was not on the RIM board, I would totally advocate this tip. It allows you to use small snips of downtime to keep on top of email. It reduces email stress by allowing it to be dealt with quickly and instantly.

Despite the pressure email puts on us, it is still preferable to the slower alternatives. Imagine trying to handle all your workload on the telephone, fax or by mail. I know we did it once but it was just not as effective and efficient.