Email Tips For Better Productivity

As Technical Director at an agency, I am thrusted across all projects that touch digital. I literally get 100's of emails per day. Before I added email filters, my inbox had at least 30 emails per hour. Most of these emails were just me being CC'd and never really require a response, and many of them are conversational email threads. If you are in a similar situation as me, then you might feel that you are spending more time deleting & sorting emails, than actually reading them.

Here are a a few email tips to help make your day more productive.


Tip 1 - The CC filter

Create a filter for CC'd emails to be automatically moved to a CC folder. Emails which you are CC'd on are just for your reference. If the email really needed your attention or a response then you would be in the main recipient list.

Adding a CC filter will drastically free up your inbox for emails which are actually directed to you.

I got this tip from Scott Hanselman, and it works wonders!

Tip 2 - Labels/Folders

Set up labels to help you find things later. Since I am overseeing all the digital clients, I have at least 20 labels so I can search for client specific emails later. This works really well if you are using something like GMail. For those using Outlook, it is a bit more clunky with folders, however this can greatly help keep your inbox less cluttered.

Tip 3 - Abruptly Cut Email Threads Short

Have you ever been in a long painful email thread? It's like a game of ping pong which never ends. If you notice that an email thread has more than 3 back and forth exchanges, then abruptly cut it short.

Your next email should be something like: "It seems that this requires further discussion. Let's have a quick call to discuss properly".

Tip 4 - Drive Emails To Calls

If you need to ask a client (or anyone for that matter) something, then of course you can ask it in the email. However, that same email could also include something like "Let's have a call to discuss further!".

You would be amazed how fast your day goes when you are not burdened with back and forth emails which clog up your inbox.

Tip 5 - Use Email for Summaries

Use email as repository, not as a main form of communication. Opt have a conversation over the phone, or by video conference first. Then follow up with an email summary of what was agreed. This will stop those painful never ending back-and-forth email threads.

Tip 6 - Move Internal Communication to Slack

If your organisation has Slack (or something similar), then this is a great alternative to email. Many emails are conversational, which means that they can be easily moved into a chat channel or direct personal message.

By reducing/eliminating conversational emails, your inbox will be more lean, and it will be easier to find the things that are actually important.

Final Thoughts

Email noise can reduce your productivity. When you have lots of emails, it is very hard figure out what is important. By following a few simple steps, you can reduce the noise, and stay productive.

I hope you found this article useful.