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Making the Most of E-mail Time
(C) 2000, Rutherford Publishing, Inc.
When used wisely, E-mail can be a handy tool for communicating more
efficiently. When used carelessly, it can become yet another gadget to
drain people's time and energy. Many people, for example, have experienced
the frustration of finding an inbox inundated with messages, many of which
are just "junk mail."
The following are ways to manage E-mail time more effectively:
Use appropriately. Know how others use E-mail to decide the best way to
communicate with them. Some people respond more promptly than others, so
don't rely on E-mail if your recipient is an "E-mail snail."
Moderate your use. E-mail can convey a false sense of urgency, so don't
let it devour your time by checking your inbox constantly. Instead, check
and respond to it a few times a day.
Respond decisively. When a message calls for a response, decide what would
be the best use of your time. Use two minutes to respond to it, delegate
it, or make a note on your planner to handle it more thoroughly later.
Skim your inbox. Avoid reading every message you receive. Scan the topic
lines to find the urgent or important ones, and delete or file the rest.
Ask your senders to write descriptive subject headings to help you
identify important messages.
Organize. Make folders and subfolders for each category of mail that you
receive, and store your E-mail messages in them. You can even use mail
filters to sort and file messages into the folders by sender name or key
words in the subject line.
Improve office talk. To save time, ask coworkers to send a brief E-mail to
update you on the status of a project. Send the agenda for a meeting
beforehand by E-mail to let everyone know what to expect. Instead of using
voice mail, E-mail others their telephone messages to save them the time
of having to transcribe their messages onto paper.
Get a separate address. If your current address is barraged by bulk mail
and forwarded messages, consider setting up a separate address for your
important business transactions.
Rutherford Publishing, Inc. produces newsletters that help individuals and
organizations discover how to take positive actions in key areas of their
lives and to encourage people to use more of their potential. The
newsletters include: Total Wellness(r), Tyme Management(tm), The Total
Leader(tm), and The Total Person(tm). For information contact
rpublish@rpublish.com or call (800)815-2323 or visit their website at
http://www.rpublish.com/
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