Email Overload: Four Habits for Managing Your Inbox

Hit snooze, check phone. For just about every working professional, it’s the first thing we do in the morning, most of the time before even getting out of bed. Then we spend the rest of the day trying not to drown in our inboxes. The struggle is real. As an agency full of PR professionals and social media strategists, we’re no strangers to the level of constant connectivity required by our careers, but we do know a thing or two about time management and staying organized. Try incorporating a few of these email habits to improve your communication strategy and conquer your inbox:

Respond quickly.

According to Google’s Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, “there are people who can be relied upon to respond promptly to emails, and those who can’t. Strive to be one of the former. Most of the best — and busiest — people we know act quickly on their emails, not just to us or to a select few senders, but to everyone.” Even if an email is going to require a longer response, replying with a short acknowledgement that you saw the message will earn you points for your respectfulness and attentiveness.

Pick up the phone.

Most of us are in the habit of using email for everything when sometimes it’s easier to just pick up the phone or walk down the hall to a co-worker’s office. If you find yourself writing email novels, it might be a better idea to schedule a call or in-person meeting instead.

Schedule a timeout.

Even Barack Obama knows that your personal time is sacred. As reported by 99U, “the president has three moments in his schedule that are unquestionably his: the morning workout, his dinner with his daughters, and the nighttime after his family falls asleep.” While it might seem like no big deal to squeeze in one more email during off-hours, make a habit of saying no. Of course there will be the periodic “immediate action required” cases when you’ll have to make an exception, but most of the time, your inbox can wait.

Stay organized.

Outlook is both the problem and solution to the never-ending inbox and sorting, filtering and categorizing are the keys to managing email, especially when you’re switching gears at an agency pace. Create search folders for your most important emails, take advantage of Outlook Quick Steps and use templates for emails that include the same basic information with a few minor detail changes.