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How to streamline your email game

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  • June 10, 2022
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I think it can be taken as a given that we all get too many emails. This is to be expected when it has over a relatively short period of time become the lifeblood of how we do business.
However, it’s clear that for many of us the emails we get are just too much and cut heavily into our time and drain our productivity. We’ve addressed this topic before on the blog with some tips on how to tame our email inbox. But it’s clear that the only way to make a meaningful dent into the number of emails you get and to claim back time for yourself, is to tackle things at the source.
Today, we talk about three strategies you can lean into that will dramatically cut the number of emails that find their way to you. And hopefully in turn, will free up some of your time to get stuck into the big and important tasks.

Think about autoresponders for common questions

This first one will sound counterintuitive but stay with me – set up autoresponders. It sounds crazy to say that the solution to less email might initially be more email, but for some people, it might be.
If you’re the sort of person that gets lots of emails about the same thing, maybe you work in finance, HR or customer services, and especially if are responsible for a shared mailbox – then setting up a template could be a sensible course of action.
It doesn’t need to be complicated, just a short email that automatically pings to everyone with the answers to a few common FAQs might just drop email traffic down to a more manageable level.

Shift away from email to instant messaging

The second thing you can look to do that will cut your email traffic dramatically is start shifting conversations away from email altogether.
We’ve all been guilty of pinging quick emails about small or inconsequential matters as an easy way to get a fast answer. Whilst this usually gets the desired result it does also clog up inboxes.
Many operating systems including Microsoft and Google have an instant messaging system built-in (eg Teams or Chat). Try to shift as many quick conversations here as you can for your own sanity.

Get back to doing things the old fashioned way

 
Finally, remember if those first two technology solutions fail there is still the old-fashioned solution. You could pick up the phone.
Whilst more and more of us are leaning on email as the primary method of communication nothing beats picking up the phone to get a quick answer or clarification. Even better, it’s good for the small talk we’ve all been missing from the office over the last few years.
Hopefully, this blog has given you some good pointers for cutting down your email traffic and boosting your productivity.
If you’re looking at other ways to make your IT work better for you, contact us today for a no obligations discussion on how Webby Tech can support your business.