10 Tips to Keep Your Email Clean, Clear and Efficient

Is your email getting bogged down with spam? Do those junk emails seem to multiply every time you try to get rid of them? Getting emails faster than you can respond to them? Well no worries, because we have some tips to the rescue!

1. Keep Your Guard Up. A quality spam filter can save you time, and that time can add up quickly and be used to focus in other areas of need in your business.
2. No Thanks. Cancel all your subscriptions to unwanted email lists and be caution when purchasing items online, because that “checked” subscribe box can often sneak past you.
3. No Laughing Matter. Politely ask you friends to remove you from joke email lists or group chain messages. Just politely explain your situation, and any friend (especially a business minded one) will understand.
4. Keep It Private. Don’t publish your email on websites unless you’re prepared to have spammers grab it and put it to use.
5. Don’t Waste Words. Unless the sender is specifically sending you a request or asking a question, you don’t have to respond to EVERY email you get. Don’t waste an email or your time to simply say “okay.”
6. Short and Sweet. If you find yourself needing to write a book when it comes to emailing, then just pick up the phone. This will cut down on multiple emails back and forth to answer questions or discuss solutions.
7. Spotlight your Subject. Put detail and attention into what you put in subject lines. This makes emails easier to prioritize and categorize when it comes to response time and urgency.
8. Control the Urge. Do you find yourself checking your email every 10 minutes? This is not only a time waster, but it also prevents you from focusing on any other work or projects. Block certain times throughout your day to read and answer emails to help eliminate this urge.
9. Don’t Procrastinate. If you receive an email that has a call to action or requires a response, then do it. If you can’t perform the action right away, put it into your calendar for later and delete the email. This keeps your email from getting bogged down and wasted time in reading the same email a dozen times.
10. Spring Clean…Daily. Set time out in your day, preferably the evening, to clean out your inbox. File your messages, set reminders and clear out the unnecessary junk.