15 Ways to Manage Your E-Mail More Effectively

? Are you tired of searching for e-mail messages you know are somewhere?
? Is your electronic "In Box" full of outdated messages?
? Do you frequently get ultimatums from your IS department to "clean up your act?"

Love it or hate it ? or both! ? e-mail is increasingly the primary method for communicating in today's digital world ? at work and at home. Research shows that introducing e-mail into a company increases printing by 40%.

In seminars, I often ask attendees, "How many of you print out your e-mail?" The vast majority raise their hand ? timidly! But let's face it, sometimes paper is highly practical. Complex proposals, for example, often require discussions where you need a printed copy that result in physical notes, making the electronic e-mail less valuable than the printed out version.

On the other hand, printing out everything is not likely a good solution. The key to managing e-mail is determining when to keep hard copy and when to keep electronic copy, keeping in mind that sometimes both may be practical. In the case described above, for example, the printed version has value for discussion, and the electronic version has value for creating new versions after the discussion. In either event, the principles of The Paper Tiger methodology will improve communication and increase productivity.

6 Tips for Sending E-mail Your Recipients Will Love:

1. Use the Subject line to clearly describe the topic of your e-mail. This is helpful for the recipient, and for you if you want to find a message you've sent.

2. Include only one subject per e-mail message. This method will greatly simplify e-mail filing and retrieval.

3. For a lengthy or complicated e-mail, create the e-mail in your word processing program and then copy to your e-mail. If you have an e-mail glitch during the sending process, you can easily retrieve your message!

4. When replying to any e-mail, attach enough of the old message for the recipient to remember the content of the original e-mail, but delete unnecessary information or duplication.

5. Avoid sending e-mail attachments whenever possible. Receivers are becoming more reluctant to open attachments due to the increasing prevalence of viruses that can come through attachments. In some instances, you may send an attachment, and include the attachment in the body of the e-mail, with the explanation that the attachment will have better formatting, but the recipient could get the gist of the message without opening the attachment.

6. Consider using your contact management software (such as ACT!) to send all of your outgoing e-mail. With many programs, you can attach your outgoing e-mail messages to the recipients, and other related contacts, and they will automatically appear in the Out Box of your e-mail program.

9 Tips for Managing Your Incoming E-mail:

1. To avoid an overflowing e-mail In Box, create folders. For example, you might have folders for each of your direct reports, for each project, for a committee which you chair, and for subjects of particular interest. (For example, I have a folder "statistics" since I frequently need that info for the media.)

2. Whenever you open your incoming e-mail, apply The FAT System? (File-Act-Toss) to each e-mail.

3. If you aren't sure you need it, toss it! Unlike a paper wastebasket, you can always retrieve e-mail from electronic trash by using the "Find Message" feature available in most e-mail programs. (If the company empties the trash without your knowledge, create a folder called "My Trash.")

4. Apply the "2-Do Rule" whenever possible. If you can reply in 2 minutes, then do it right away. It will take longer to file it and retrieve it again than to "just do it!"

5. For e-mail that takes more time to reply, either leave them in Inbox or file in an appropriate folder such as "Action"or "Reply."

6. If you use Paper Tiger Permanent Action Files for managing your paper (Call, Discuss, On-Line, etc.), you can use it to file the paper copy of e-mail that requires your action, such as "Discuss with John."

7. For e-mail you want to keep in electronic format, drag to the appropriate folder as described in Tip #1.

8. If you need or want a paper copy of an e-mail for future reference, print it out and file it in your paper management system, i.e. Paper Tiger, so you can find it again in 5 seconds or less!

9. After you have finished with an e-mail folder (such as a specific project), you can store it on a floppy or ZIP disk in case you need it later.

Do you have some "tricks of the trade" I didn't describe, or have questions about the ones I suggested, feel free to e-mail me - I love to hear from you.

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The Gold Is In Your Mailing List

Let me ask you a question, "What is the most... Read More

Effective Email Marketing

I've been sending out email camapigns for clients for over... Read More

The Power of a Referral Script

The key to the success of e-commerce is in the... Read More

Build or Buy--Should You Build Your Own Opt-in Email List?

The easiest way to acquire an email list for your... Read More

Introduction to Autoresponders

If you've reached the point of exhaustion trying to keep... Read More

Ten Tips to Building Your Opt-in List.

To build and maintain your opt-in list requires constant attention.As... Read More

Dirty Secrets Of Co-Registration Email Lists

Years ago, I listened to Internet marketing "gurus" share that... Read More

Email Marketing - Building A Mail List

Millions of people use their computer everyday as a form... Read More

Email: When You Dont Get a Response

The lack of an email response is an issue I... Read More

Taking Email Marketing To The Next Level

How to use the latest e-messaging strategies to increase profits.Many... Read More

10 Netiquette New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year! New attitude? New habits? How about 10... Read More

What A Newsletter Can Do For Your Business

Newsletters are often thought of as easy, do-it-yourself communications projects.... Read More

Lesson #3: Capitalize on Your Captures!

One of the underlying benefits of smart autoresponders is that... Read More

Do You Ponder the Automatic Responder?

* The Automatic Responder is generally referred to as an... Read More

Top 5 Reasons to Use Autoresponders

One of the best and newest tools out there for... Read More

How?s Your E-mail Etiquette

In a fast moving global economy, e-mail offers you the... Read More

My Emails Are Not Being Delivered. Black Lists and White Lists Explained.

Over 40% of all emails within your marketing campaign are... Read More

A Single Email Is Never Enough

"Repetition is the key to advertising (marketing)". Those words were... Read More

Analysing Autoresponders

An autoresponder is an automatic or software-mailing program. Why... Read More

Confessions Of An Info Junkie

I love the Internet! Information about any topic that piques... Read More

The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters

This Stanford University study surveyed the leading research on virtual... Read More

RSS vs Email: Its Not An Either-Or Question

If you've been getting caught up in all this talk... Read More

6 Simple Ways to Manage Your Emails Better

E-mail, a wonderful communication tool is also the greatest challenge... Read More

Email Marketing Losing Its Effectiveness? The Alternative Is Desktop Marketing!

You've heard of email marketing, but it isn't what it... Read More

E-mail 101: The Dos and Donts

Even though many people have been writing e-mails for a... Read More

Improve Email Deliverability: 15 Tips for Email Marketing Success

Delivering email newsletters and sales messages to opt-in subscribers and... Read More

Email Etiquette II

I had great feedback from my last article, and was... Read More

What Do Your E-Mail Messages Say About You?

There probably isn't a business person alive who hasn't at... Read More

Why Does Nobody Visit My Web Site?

After endless hours of writing, designing and programming your brand... Read More

Choose Your Email Marketing Software Wisely

Successful online business can't be led without email marketing. Many... Read More

Who Else Wants to Sky Rocket Their CD Sales, Fan base and Indie Music Career?

If YOU Answered YES, Then Start An Online Newsletter?It's Easy,... Read More

Is Your Autoresponder Hungry?

Do you know how to feed it, so that it... Read More

Track Customer Response With an Autoresponder Service

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More