Tips on Efficient E-Communication

E-mail stress is widespread in today’s workplace. In workplaces today, employees feel stressed by the amount of e-mails they receive and their obligation to respond in a timely manner.If your e-mail provokes anxiety, consider the following tips for reorganizing your inbox:

Get rid of habits. Many professionals, when they hear the ping of an incoming message, quickly check their inbox regardless of the work they are doing. Unless your role absolutely requires it, recondition your reflexes by forcing yourself to stop reading messages the instant they arrive. Most messages don’t require an immediate response.

Turn off mail alerts. You might think that you’re multitasking efficiently by halting your work to quickly respond to e-mail messages popping into your inbox. But it’s just as likely that the frequent interruptions are hampering – not aiding – your productivity. If you can’t resist, eliminate the temptation. Shut down your e-mail and instant-message programs from time to time to concentrate solely on the task at hand.

Keep your work account work-related. Sure, forwarded jokes or trivia add humor to your day, but this less-than-critical type of correspondence doesn’t help you in the time-management department. Therefore, it’s a good idea to ask family members and friends to send messages to your personal account. Doing so will enable you to focus on your work and help keep your inbox manageable.

Communicate clearly. Cut down on inbox clutter by focusing on clarity when writing e-mails. For instance, if you send a confusing directive, you’re bound to receive a request for more explanation. Needless back-and-forth e-mailing wastes time and tests the patience of all parties involved. Before hitting “Send,” always proofread your work to make sure your message is clear and grammatically correct.

Become organized. On a regular basis, perhaps once a week, go through your inbox to delete unnecessary messages and file relevant ones in an appropriate folder. This practice, along with writing on-topic subject lines, will help you locate important e-mails quickly at a later date.

Personalize. E-mail, which is best suited for quick questions and to the point answers, should not replace in-person interaction. If a conversation is likely to be extensive, in-depth or highly sensitive, save yourself some typing time by picking up the phone or stopping by your contact’s desk instead.

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