#30days Home Organisation Challenge
DAY 28: Today’s home organisational tip is more of a life hack. Whether working in the corporate world or not, it’s almost impossible to not use email to communicate, as few other mediums of communication offer the same speed, efficiency, dependability, and cost-effectiveness.
It’s also easy to get bogged down in emails. With an inbox that is constantly full, it’s easy to lose track of important messages or respond slowly to important issues. What if you could send (and get) fewer emails, but still accomplish the same amount of work? Follow a few of our tips to streamline your email inbox.
JOURNAL:
What is my definition of being organised?
What does a “perfect workday” look like?
TASK:
Streamline Your Email Inbox
Implement a few of these tips below and notice your email communication improve, your co-workers and customers will appreciate your attention to detail and more effective communication.
1. Take Control of Newsletters and Promotional Emails
Regularly unsubscribe.
Avoid getting them in the first place by unchecking any box that automatically signs you up for email communications.
Turn off notifications. Sites like LinkedIn send you brief messages to let you know when someone leaves a comment or sends a message. Instead, just check the sites regularly.
If you’re using Gmail, switch your Inbox type to the “Default” setting, which relegates Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums to separate tabs.
2. Text or Call Instead
Before hitting send, ask yourself: is email really the most effective means of communication for this message? Sometimes a quick text or call is much more efficient.
3. Make a Single Email Accomplish More
If you find yourself sending multiple emails to one person during a single day, stop. This typically happens because you’re asking questions as issues arise.
Instead, start a draft early in the day, and only send it once you have multiple questions or concerns. Use bullet points to ensure that the other individual can easily see and address each one.
4. Suggest Dates, Times, and Locations for Meetings and Calls
It can often take dozens of emails to coordinate a single appointment. Cut down on the number of messages going back and forth by suggesting specific options for dates, times, and even locations right from the start.
5. Handle Issues Immediately
Don’t read an email and then respond to it later. It’s much more likely to go completely ignored, and you’ll actually waste more time in the long run since you’ll read the same message multiple times. Instead, set aside a time of day to go through absolutely every email and achieve the coveted “inbox zero”.
6. Start a Newsletter
If you’re a freelancer or a business owner, there are often times when you have to send the same message to multiple people. Consider mass emailing them instead.
“A small list that wants exactly what you’re offering is better than a bigger list that isn’t committed.”