How to get your email under control

Lisa Hendrickson | May 20, 2009 | 0 Comments

Last night I was talking to a friend about email and how out control people let it get. I have a few concerns about email. My biggest is why it takes some people days to reply to a simple email. But then I thought about it and I do the same thing. I read it, but won’t reply right away. My biggest problem is that I have 5 ways to check my email and only one of them is where I actually “control” where the emails go. Aka…have folders to sort them in and run rules.

Here is my take on it…

Email Etiquette

Normally, when YOU email someone, you want something from them, have a question, need information or are sending them requested information. As the recipient receives the email, they read it but then mentally sort you into a “mental folder”…

Reply now! She’s important and I need her to communicate back right now!

Ah, I can reply later...This is not that important, but tomorrow I will have more time to reply properly.

oh crap, this again….This is far from important, but you should reply at in the next week or so.

the Dread….I seriously didn’t want this email and really…I don’t need to reply and I won’t. (((delete)))

Now what you should be doing is having folders set up and run some rules to organize all this email. I have about 50 folders for my Outlook in the office. I have rules running for many different topics. Example? All my Linkedin emails go to the “Linkedin” folder. I can see when I have new email and as Linkedin is important, my clients come first. I breeze the Linkedin folder as I see new items, but it’s usually not important.

What about the non-folder items? I read the email, then move each email to different folders.

“Stuff to do later” (which means I may get to it, maybe I won’t)

And then I have oodles of subcategories because not all these emails require a reply or did and I replied and it’s now in a folder for archiving.

My inbox is always clean when I leave the office at the end of the day.

Newsletter Etiquette

We all gets tons of “spam/junk”. What constitutes junk or spam? To me, getting a newsletter from someone I met at a networking event or via LinkedIn is not spam or junk. What is? Viagra and emails from Nigeria telling me I was willed $E100000. How do you handle the junk/spam from someone you know or met F2F or online? Here are my simple rules:

If they are giving information that has value, I keep it.

If they are pushing workshops or just info about themselves, I unsubscribe. I get way too much email a day and know who they are and how to contact them, so it’s just best to get off that list.

Yes, it may seem rude, but I have a huge database that I email a few times a month and see people unsubscribe to my newsletters and many are my clients. They aren’t interested in what I have to say about this and that, etc. I get it! I don’t care….so don’t think you are going to hurt someone’s feelings, business is business and email is alot of my workday.

Last tip! DO NOT have 100’s of unread email either! It only brings you down and you should clean that up and start fresh! I love helping clients clean up their emails….it feels refreshing for them and me. If you’re interested in having me help, I can do that remotely and over the phone.

Happy Wed!