Things You'll Need:
- Internet.
- Email account.
- Ability to plan.
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Step 1
Choose an email program that you like. Top choices are Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo Mail but there are also others. Many people just use whatever they've been using for a long time but you may find that other programs are more efficient for you. Play around with a few to see what you like best.
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Step 2
Decide how many times per day you actually must check email. Set aside specific times to do that. For example, if you need to check email at least twice per day then set aside half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening to check email every day.
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Step 3
Focus on completing all email tasks during this time. You should respond to everything that is sent through. You should file the emails in appropriate online folders. Print out anything that you need a hard copy of.
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Step 4
Ignore email at all other times of day. You've already decided how often you must check it so what are you doing in there the rest of the time?
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Step 5
Get rid of spam. Mark all spam as such when it comes to your inbox. Unsubscribe from any mailings you don't want. This reduces the amount of time you waste deleting junk email.
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Step 6
Make use of standard responses and email templates. This allows you to cut and paste responses that you send frequently so that you lose less time to email.
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Step 7
Ask yourself if another method of commuication is more efficient. Sometimes email isn't as good as phone calls or instant messages for effective communication. Consider this when dealing with email.
