Your email inbox is likely overflowing with messages that demand your attention. However, managing your email efficiently can free up valuable time and boost your productivity. The best part is that you don't have to spend hours a day or even multiple times per day scrolling through emails that you're just going to "Mark Unread" anymore. Throughout the latter part of my training and as an early attending, I've had to develop a more efficient email workflow. Here are five tips for optimizing your email workflow:
Adopt the One-Touch Method
Time Block Your Emailing (include apps and pomodoro they can click on)
Use Email Filters and Folders
Create Templated Responses for Common Emails
Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Email Lists
Tip #1 - Adopt the One-Touch Method
The one-touch method is a philosophy that encourages you to handle each email only once. When you open an email, take the necessary action, whether that's responding, deleting, or filing it away.
Anything that I can respond to immediately or can delete, I do so, but what about the things that need a bit of thought before a response? Here are the strategies I use for:
For anything that I can schedule like a meeting, I add immediately to my calendar. I use Outlook for everything so the workflow is smooth.
For anything that can be filed away, such an a video link I can watch later, I export it to the Instapaper app. This is a very easy program to incorporate into your workflow with options for either a browser extension or a forwarding email, and it collects and manages these files for later (perhaps as reading as part of your morning routine).
Finally, for anything that I can't attend to immediately, I add it to my to-do list. My preferred electronic to-do list is the Todoist app. This is great as it automatically recognizes phrases like "tomorrow" or "next weekend" and will set automatic due dates. You can also set priorities and reminders to replicate the Productivity Planner method, which I also use by putting pen to paper.
This approach helps prevent email overload and ensures that important messages don't slip through the cracks.
Tip #2 - Time Block Your Emailing
Checking your email constantly throughout the day can be a major time drain. Instead, set specific times during the day to check and respond to email. For anyone who has used the Pomodoro method or other scheduling and timing strategies, this will be very familiar already. All you need is a calendar app to block out the time with a reminder and, if you're into a timer
method, your smartwatch or smartphone to set the timer (apparently people don't use actual Tomato timers anymore...). This approach ensures that you're not constantly distracted by incoming messages and can stay focused on more important tasks.
Tip #3 - Use Email Filters and Folders
Email filters and folders can help keep your inbox organized and make it easier to find important messages. I have folder for work, friends, and even for coupons I'm saving for later!
Filters are a great way to do this. Filters are rules you create in your email settings to automatically perform a task. For example, I use Clearly to buy my contact lenses and I save their promotional codes they send out, so I've set up a filter and folder so that any email I receive from their marketing department is labelled as "Clearly" and sent to my "Promotional" folder (see below).
This is a huge time saving tip, especially for managing the emails that you'll want to find later.
Tip #4 - Automate with Templated and Dictated Responses For Common Emails
I love automation, and I've talked about it in another blog post about productivity. It's the same with email workflow where templates and dictation can streamline an productivity, especially since we receive many emails that require a response of a similar format. Creating templated responses for these common emails can save you time and help you respond more efficiently. You can also personalize these responses for individual recipients to ensure that they don't feel like they're receiving a generic reply.
I also recommend dictating your responses when you can, even with your smartphone or computer's native voice app. It's been a much more efficient process, even with the proofread before hitting send.
Tip #5 - Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Email Lists
Finally, take the time to unsubscribe from any email lists that are no longer relevant or useful to you. If you're like me, then your email has been sold to marketers around the world (but
despite this, the spam emails still never seems to be helpful). As I spoke of in this other post, I take the time to unsubscribe from these emails but then I double down and block them and "mark as junk". This maximizes the chance that I won't see this again.
You can also set filters to automatically trash any email with the "unsubscribe" in it, but be careful because that can cause some emails that you actually signed up for to be trashed as well.
My top tip is learn how to spell "unsubscribe" in all the languages so you can look out for that button no matter where the email is coming from. This can help prevent unnecessary emails from clogging up your inbox and reduce the amount of time you spend managing your email.
Hopefully you picked up some tips on streamlining your email workflow to help you become more efficient and productive. By adopting the one-touch method, time blocking your emailing, using filters and folders, automating with templated and dictated responses, and unsubscribing from unnecessary email lists, you can manage your email more effectively and focus on the tasks that matter most.
If you found this helpful, please consider subscribing to the news letter. If you have any email tips you want to share, I'd love to hear them in the comments.
Thanks and see you next time!
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