Many business owners will know only too well the challenge that emails pose. Although emails have made it easier than ever for us to do business and get in touch with people, it can sometimes feel like we are sinking under the wright of our inboxes, and it can sometimes feel like we do nothing productive because we are too busy answering all of those messages we receive every day.
The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to manage your business emails more effectively and free up more of your precious time for those tasks that add the most value to your company, including the following:
Outsource it
Perhaps, the best way to stay on top of your company emails is to outsource the tasks completely. Good remote virtual assistants will be able to handle your inbox just as effectively as you do, if not more effectively, and they are a really affordable solution to boot. Unless you really need to handle your emails yourself, it is probably the perfect solution.
Do it once a day
Something else that can work quite well is committing to processing your emails only once or twice a day. You can choose the best time for you, but most people find that doing them first thing in the morning or last thing before going home works best. How does this work? By simply ignoring your emails for the rest of the day, you can get lots of important stuff done, and then by single-tasking your email processing when you are ready, you can really concentrate on the task at hand and get it done faster too.
File your emails
It is a really good idea to set up a filing system for your emails so that important ones are flagged and less important are filed into separate folders depending on who they are from and how soon you will need to reply. Ost email services allow you to do this, and it means you can more easily find and focus on those few emails that do require your immediate attention, getting to the others when you are good and ready to do so.
Don’t reply
Okay, so you cannot just ignore every business email that comes your way, but you also do not necessarily need to reply to every email you get, Some will not require a reply if, for instance, they are simply furnishing you with new information, and taking the time to do so is time that could be better spent elsewhere. Be more discerning in which emails you reply to and not only will you save time, but more people might start to realize they are sending pointless emails to you, which means you might see an overall reduction in your inbox too.
Now you know how to handle your inbox more effectively, you can save time and money and start adding more value to your business by giving the important stuff more of your time!
