Email has been one of the most impactful inventions of modern times and is key for keeping people connected. This is especially true in the business world and organisations simply couldn’t operate without email now.
For many users though, it can feel a real hassle to deal with the sheer number of emails they get per day. If you find yourself in this position, it’s worth finding out how to reduce the amount of time you spend on emails.
But how can you do this?
1. Don’t Overcheck Them
A good tip to reduce time spent on emails is not checking them too much. Once every hour is fine, as most people will not expect to hear back before then. Turning off new message notifications can also stop you from checking emails as soon as they arrive.
2. Move Messages Out When You Read Them
Moving emails out of your inbox when you have read them is another good tip to learn. Whether you delete or archive them, this will stop you from spending time re-reading the same emails.
3. Find Old Emails With A Search
Most people put off replying to emails immediately but then waste a lot of time trying to find messages when they do want to reply. To cut back on how much time you spend doing this, use the search function in your email. This is significantly quicker than searching manually through folders for messages.
4. Use Shortcut
If you use your mouse to manually move emails between folders, it could see you wasting a lot of time. This can soon add up and make it feel like you are giving email processing too much attention. A good tip to combat this is by using shortcuts. If you want to move messages in Outlook, for example, Ctrl + Shift + v is a much faster way of doing it.
Other shortcuts in Outlook include:
View next email: Ctrl + .
View previous email: Ctrl + ,
Flag a message for follow-up: Ctrl + Shift + g
Search all folders: Ctrl + Alt + a
5. Don’t Deal With Irrelevant Emails Manually
Everyone who has email knows that, on a daily basis, you can get a lot of messages which are just not relevant. If you manually read these types of messages, it will see you spend more than you should on emails each day. To cut back on this, use filters for newsletters you want to keep and to block spam.
Cutting Back On Email Processing Is Wise
These are just some of the simple ways you can reduce how much time you spend on emails. If you find organising all your messages overwhelming, they are worth taking on board to streamline your workflow and give you time to focus on what’s important.
