In today’s fast-paced world, Email is used for everything. We get email on our phones, tablets, computers and many other devices. You just purchased a new Franchise and emails are coming in nonstop and making it difficult to manage all the work associated with starting a new business. So the question becomes how can I manage all of the incoming emails and still have time to get all of my work done? Everyone has a different way THEY handle email so today I am not going to tell you how YOU should manage your email. What I am going to do is provide you with guidance on some email best practices to help you create a plan to manage your time and email in a way that works for you.
REPLY – When a new email comes in quickly scan the email and set the follow up accordingly. Set up time each day for 30 to 60 minutes to reply to all email in your inbox. When replying to the emails be concise. People are more likely to read a short to the point email rather than a lengthy email.
FOLLOW-UP – Set flags to set follow up reminders to make sure you do not miss a needed follow up.
ACKNOWLEDGE – If an email is going to take more then 3 minutes to reply then send an acknowledgment email reply to the sender this will let them know you have received the email and will be following up later.
OUTLOOK FOCUSED FEATURE – If you are using outlook 2018 you have the ability to use Focused and Other in the inbox this is a feature that uses smart filtering to show you emails you need to focus on or emails that are from (marketing, groups etc.) This feature is also available on Outlook Mobile.
FOLDERS – Create folders. Folders are a great way to file replied and resolved emails. After you have replied to the email move it to the correct folder. For example if you receive an email about the upcoming marketing promotion, reply and acknowledge the email and move it to the Marketing folder.
OUT OF OFFICE NOTICE – When you are going to be out of the office for an extended period of time use the Automatic reply feature to sent up a message that will be sent to everyone that emails you. By using this feature you can let senders know you are not available and when they can expect a response.
So in conclusion by implementing some or all of the steps above will help you manage your inbox. Remember do what works for you but work to include the best practices above to manage your email and be willing to try and learn new ways managing your e-mails.
