Spotlight on Productivity: How to Overcome E-Mail Overload

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by e-mail? Have you ever spent more of your day wading through your e-mail than managing your work? Are you looking for ways to spend less time creating, managing and answering messages? Discover how to overcome e-mail overload and be more productive by writing more effective e-mail messages and reducing the volume of e-mail.

Write Effective E-Mail Messages

Start improving your e-mail effectiveness by creating and formatting easy to follow content, and by using pre-written responses.

Create Clear Content

Consider these strategies to upgrade your communications with understandable, e-mail messages:

? Help others prioritize how to act on your e-mail by including a clear, specific subject line and repeating important subject information in the body of the message.

? Define your expectations in the body of the message. Do you want your recipients to act, respond, read, or is the e-mail FYI only?

? Include only one topic per message. If that isn't possible, then describe and number multiple topics as in 5 items to add to the Wednesday meeting agenda.

? When you type the addresses for your message, check who is getting your e-mail. Many programs attempt to auto-fill an e-mail address which may not be your intended recipient.

? Be careful with your tone and language. As with any other communication, match the message to your audience. Unless the reader understands your dry sense of humor, for instance, they may be confused or offended rather than amused.

? It may be tempting to use acronyms in the world of the Blackberry and IM (instant messaging), but only use extremely common abbreviations, such as FYI or ASAP, unless you are absolutely certain that the individual receiving your e-mail knows what they mean.

? Clearly identify yourself to strangers within your message and in the message signature.

Format Readable E-Mail Messages

Simplify the e-mail messages you send with clean, easy-to-read formatting:

? Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.

? Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.

? Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.

? Add blank lines and white space to separate paragraphs and areas of detail.

? Run the spelling checker and re-read messages one last time for clarity and grammar before clicking Send.

Use Prewritten Responses

If you send a few basic messages over and over again, such as a reply to a request for product information, consider saving those responses as signatures that can be inserted into e-mail so that you don't have to retype them. For a majority of messages, create a default signature that includes your full name, position or title, phone, website, and other contact information.

Reduce the Volume of E-Mail

Some of the top ways to cut the amount of e-mail you receive is to manage the number of messages that you send, reduce unnecessary follow-up replies, and determine when person-to-person communication is a better choice. Decrease the Number of Messages You Send Before you write your next e-mail, seek to actively reduce how much e-mail you send:

? Read all replies on a topic before responding to the original message. Resist getting involved with e-mail threads that don't impact your objectives.

? Don't send, and discourage your staff from sending, "chime-in" messages that are simply unimportant responses such as "Thank you" and "You're welcome." Don't respond to junk mail.

? Avoid Reply to All unless all recipients need to see your response. Otherwise you are contributing to their e-mail litter.

? Use the Cc (carbon copy) line only when the topic impacts the recipient's work. Although it may seem easier to send a message to everyone in a department or your organization, first ask yourself, "Who needs to know? Why?" Most people who get a carbon copy assume there is something they are supposed to do.

? Use Bcc (blind carbon copy) to hide large distribution lists or to disguise the names of select recipients. All recipients can respond to a message but replies will not be received by anyone in the Bcc list which reduces the amount of e-mail they get.

Eliminate the Clutter in Your E-Mail

In addition to initiating fewer e-mail messages, look at other ways to reduce the messages in your Inbox:

? Publish frequently requested information on your company website and make sure that the website is quickly updated when changes occur.

? When you are sending out informational messages that do not require feedback, discourage unnecessary responses by using formal language and begin and end messages with No Reply Needed or FYI Only.

? Unsubscribe to electronic newsletters that you don't read and move others out of your Inbox to folders for reading during travel or other down times. Don't unsubscribe to mailings that you never initiated or you may further open the flow of junk mail.

? If it's an available option, setup an out of office message that responds to incoming messages when you are not available to answer your e-mail. Clearly state your response time, when you will return, and who can be contacted during your absence.

Choose Voice Instead of E-Mail

There are often times when phone or face-to-face conversations are a superior choice to e-mail. Pick up the phone or arrange a meeting when:

? Building rapport is critical.

? The topic is emotionally charged.

? There are many intertwined issues to resolve or there is a need for lengthy interactive discussions.

Implementing these strategies for overcoming e-mail overload can help you become more productive and free you from your Inbox.

© 2005 by Dawn Bjork Buzbee

Dawn Bjork Buzbee is The Software Pro? and a certified Microsoft Office Expert and Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor. Dawn shares smart and easy ways to effectively use software and technology through her work as a speaker, trainer, and consultant. Visit http://www.SoftwarePro.com for great Microsoft Office software tips and tricks or to contact Dawn.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Delegating Responsibility

Too many managers waste both time and energy performing tasks... Read More

Five Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important... Read More

Five Strategies for Profitable Services Growth

In today's era of Professional and IT Services competition and... Read More

Ten Steps to Take the Work out of Work ? Replicate Yourself!

They say that management can be a lonely place. A... Read More

Einstein - Definition of Insanity

Insanity in the Sign & Graphics IndustryEinstein's DefinitionAlbert Einstein once... Read More

Money, Motivation, Success and Who?

It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was... Read More

Hire The Person, Not The Resume

"? [get] the right people on the bus, the right... Read More

Crisis Management Tips

The term crisis management has different connotations. In this article,... Read More

Human Resource Communication Pays Off

Human Resource Communications and Corporate Communications ? are they one... Read More

Business Innovation ? Ignoring Content

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The 70% Solution: Practical Testing and Version Control

"What do you mean you need to push back the... Read More

Relationship Building - 5 Tips and 5 Questions

And is isn't hard - it's more about focusing on... Read More

Time Management - How to Have Productive Meetings

One of the greatest time wasters of all are unnecessary... Read More

The How-Tos of Firing Incompetent Employees

CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses... Read More

Conquering the Number One Problem in Business--Poor Communication

The Number One problem in business is poor communication: between... Read More

Nine Steps to Help You Develop Your Potential

Go into any bookstore and you will find a big... Read More

Pricing Strategy for Retail Flower Shops

When you create your profit and loss statement to assess... Read More

Let the Professionals Help You Out - Outsource

As your website grows in terms of attracting more footfalls,... Read More

Bosses Are Out ? Managers As Coaches Are In

There is a new trend taking hold in business today... Read More

Planning For Growth

Are you planning your business or are you... Read More

Understanding Every Aspect of Your Organization

GET TO KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION: If you don't understand an... Read More

Manage Your Business from the Rockies, not the Prairies

The day job as a manager is all about managing... Read More

Juggling Demands in an Organization

JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of... Read More

Ringing Doorbells Without Howitzers

Many operations leaders have been there, done that with re-engineering.... Read More

Employee Orientation: The 90 Day Difference

Why do some new managers succeed while others fail? It... Read More

Doing More With Less

This is a bottom-line environment.Decreasing the downtime of revenue producing... Read More

Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication

"But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative... Read More

Appraisal Systems - Not Living Up to Their Objectives

Almost, if not all organisations have them, they've been around... Read More

Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For

The old saying 'You have to spend money to make... Read More

Let the Intern Do It - Affordable Help for Your Business

Do you have more projects than time? Help might be... Read More

Managing Workplace Conflicts

Kinds of Workplace ConflictsLet's start by identifying where conflicts happen.... Read More

Setting Direction Within an Organization

FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means... Read More

Sarbanes-Oxley and Section 404: Old Dog, New Teeth

The failures we have seen in the quality and integrity... Read More