Email Productivity
Your email inbox is probably one of the most important and busiest places you have. Your work gets done there, so it’s important to use it wisely. From managing your inbox as a project, to figuring out how to be more productive when sending emails, we’ll go over some practical ways to make the most of your inbox.
Types of Emails
There are four types of emails: transactional, relationship, content, and promotional.
Transactional emails are one-to-one messages that are triggered by an action. They include order receipts, shipping notifications, password resets, and more.
Relationship emails are sent to build or maintain a relationship with the recipient. They can be welcome messages, onboarding series, customer satisfaction surveys, or even just a personal note from the sender.
Content emails share valuable information with the reader and generally don’t promote anything. They might include blog posts, educational articles, or tips and tricks.
Promotional emails are all about selling something. They usually include special offers, discounts, or product announcements.
Email Etiquette
Email productivity can be a challenge, especially when dealing with a large volume of messages. The following email etiquette tips can help you stay on top of your inbox and avoid common mistakes that can lead to decreased productivity.
When replying to an email, always include the original message in your reply. This helps the recipient understand your response in context and also makes it easier for them to follow the thread of the conversation.
If you’re cc’ing someone on an email, make sure they really need to be included. The more people who are cc’d on a message, the less likely it is that anyone will actually read it.
Be clear and concise in your messages. The recipient should be able to understand your meaning without having to read between the lines. If you’re not sure whether your message is clear, ask a friend or colleague to read it before hitting send.
Proofread your emails before sending them off. A few typos here and there are bound to happen, but taking the time to ensure that your message is free of major errors shows that you care about communication clarity.
Respect the recipient’s time by keeping your messages short and to the point. If you have a lot to say, consider breaking up your thoughts into multiple emails or picking up the phone instead.
Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation in all of your correspondence. This seems like a no-brainer, but sloppy email habits can be hard to break.
How to Save Time and Increase Productivity with Inbox Zero
Assuming you check your email regularly (at least once a day), Inbox Zero is a method of keeping your inbox empty – or almost empty – at all times. This might sound like an impossible task, but it can be surprisingly easy to achieve with a little bit of organisation and effort.
Here are some tips on how to save time and increase productivity with Inbox Zero:
1. Check your email regularly and take action immediately. If an email can be dealt with in two minutes or less, do it right away. This will help to keep your inbox clean and prevent you from forgetting about important tasks.
2. Use folders and labels to organise your emails. This will make it easier to find specific emails when you need them and help you to keep on top of different projects.
3. Delete or archive emails that you don’t need. If an email is no longer relevant, get rid of it! This will declutter your inbox and make it easier to focus on the task at hand.
4. Respond to emails promptly. If someone has taken the time to write to you, the least you can do is reply quickly. Not only is this good manners, but it will also help to keep your inbox under control.
5. Unsubscribe from any unnecessary email lists. If you’re constantly being bombarded with promotional emails or newsletters that you never read, unsubscribe!
How to Reduce Stress with Unsubscribe Buttons
We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed by our inboxes. Constantly checking and responding to email can be stressful and take up a lot of time. But there are ways to reduce the amount of email you have to deal with, and one of them is using unsubscribe buttons.
When you get an email from a sender you don’t want to hear from anymore, look for an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the message. This will usually take you to a page where you can confirm that you want to unsubscribe. Once you do this, you’ll stop getting emails from that sender.
If an email doesn’t have an unsubscribe button, you can try contacting the company directly and asking them to remove your address from their mailing list. Sometimes they’ll be happy to do it, especially if they know you’re not a customer.
Reducing the amount of email you get can help reduce your stress levels and make it easier to focus on the messages that are important to you. So next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your inbox, take a few minutes to clean it up by unsubscribing from some of the sources of unwanted messages.
How to Manage Your Inbox Automatically with Filters
If your inbox is constantly overflowing with emails, it may be time to start using filters to automatically manage your email. Filters can help you sort emails into different categories, or even delete certain types of emails outright.
To set up a filter in Gmail, click the down arrow in the search bar and select “Create a new filter”. From here, you can specify what criteria you want the filter to use. For example, you could create a filter that deletes all emails with attachments, or one that marks all emails from a certain sender as read.
Once you’ve created your filters, be sure to check them periodically to make sure they’re still doing what you want them to. And if you ever find yourself overwhelmed by email again, don’t forget that you can always create more filters!
