Resource of the Week #88: A List of Tips on Managing E-Mail

Hello again. A busy semester is ending here, and I see that my e-mail inbox has many old messages in it.

I normally respond promptly to messages needing rapid replies. However, messages just of longer-term interest often sit in my inbox longer than they should. And, more generally, I think I’m not efficient enough in managing e-mail.

Interestingly, when I started to clean out my e-mail inbox, I came across a relevant LinkedIn update. In the update, a colleague recommended an article titled “9 Simple Steps to Get Your Email under Control”.

This article contains useful advice and is readably written. Therefore it’s our Resource of the Week.

Helpful points from the article include the following:

• Don’t use the inbox for storage. Read each message, and reply if needed. Then archive or delete the message.
• Check e-mail periodically rather than reading each message when it arrives.
• Decide wisely when to use e-mail and when to contact people in other ways.
• For efficient communication, send well-constructed e-mail.
• If you’ll repeatedly send similar messages, create templates.

Do you too have some difficulty managing e-mail? If so, I encourage you to read this article.

Until the next post—

Barbara