Dealing with Email Overload – Tips and Best Practices

• 1. Keep business and personal email separate.
  Have an email account for work only and a separate email address for personal correspondence. Whether it's company policy or not, generally, it's a good idea to keep work and personal correspondence apart. In any case, having two separate email addresses will allow you to manage your email and your time more effectively.
  
  
• 2. Process email at set times only, each day.
  Beware of Blackberry addiction! Unless your job demands it, resist the temptation to check your email every time it "dings". In most jobs you may not need to check your email more than two or three times a day. Mark (and keep) these times in your calendar as recurring entries. Turn off the incoming email alert. Let people know that if they need to reach you instantly, e-mail isn't the way to do it.
  Delete from your vocabulary the expression: "check email". You want to process your email using the 4D methodology, described below.
  
  
• 3. Clear your email in-box of all messages, daily.
  By processing email, the goal is an empty email in-box at the end of each day. Keeping all/most messages in your in-box is no different from a cluttered desk. It creates stress. The in-box is for temporary storage only. It's not a to do list, a follow up file, or a calendar. Deal with every message when you open it. Closing it back, without a decision, is not permitted! Read it, understand it and decide on an action! Delete it, Do it (if it takes < 2 mins), Delegate it (if you can) or Defer it. Deferral means you move (or copy) it to your (Outlook) calendar (yes, you can drag and drop) or move/copy to your (Outlook) Task Pad. Out of sight, but not out of mind.
  
  If no action required, move it to a meaningfully named folder (or sub-folder) for easy reference.
  
  
• 4. You don't have to respond to every message.
  This is particularly true of one-word messages such as "Thanks" or "Great!" As one of your pre-set signatures, create one with "No response necessary."
  
  
• 5. Use and learn to use the right software.
  Outlook or a similar product with their robust features helps you not only to manage email, but also to manage your time and activities. Such tools will make you more productive. You can drag and drop an email from your in-box to your Folders, Calendar, Tasks list, or Contacts. You can also set up rules that automatically delete certain email or move messages from certain senders to special folders you've created.

These are but a few of the many best practices that will help you gain control of your overloaded email in-box and limit the constant interruptions caused by the speed of technology.