Take control of your inbox in 10 easy steps

We are drowning under a tide of unwanted emails - and the person sitting opposite you is just as guilty as the marketers and conmen, writes Dr Monica Seeley...

Before we begin thinking about 'what' we can do about the problem of email overload, let us first put the problem into some kind of perspective.

The DTI estimates that people spend around 49 working days per year on all email. A conservative estimate would say at least a fortnight of this time is spent on non-essential, unsolicited or just unwanted. And if we're looking at a fortnight per person, per year - on fat cat salaries - it’s starting to get very expensive.

So, to stop losing a fortnight per year dealing with unwanted emails we all need to take action. What I mean by unwanted emails is what I call 'noise'. That is all the emails we never asked for - not just the unwanted marketing mail. After all, why shouldn't we class internal mails as spam as well? If 'unsolicited' is the definition of spam, then why not?

This 'noise' adds nothing to our lives, we do not need it for our job and it eats up valuable time and resources. Most inboxes are full of noise and starved of real information.

Just think how much better your work-life balance could be if you could reclaim all those lost days. It can be done.

1. Put aside time to deal with email - stop dipping in and out every few minutes: checking your inbox two or three times a day is adequate for most people. Use the ‘out of office’ function to mange people’s expectation about your availability and switch off the ‘new mail notification’. When you do handle your inbox, remember the 3D rule: deal, delete or delegate. To help yourself, automatically create an entry in your calendar or task list from an email that requires subsequent action.

2. Place emails in folders – use folders to store and sort emails. Use the ‘rules’ function in the email software to sort existing and new incoming mail automatically into folders. Use colour to ‘organise’ both existing and new incoming email.

3. Post back unwanted internal email - remove yourself from every unwanted internal circulation list – ask senders not to send you a copy unless there is something for you to action.

4. Prohibit spam from entering your inbox – make sure your organisation and your ISP use robust spam filtering software. Use ‘rules’ to filter out any spam that does creep in. Notify your IT department and ISP of new sources of external spam. Anti-spam filters are only as good as the spam they know about. Do not return external spam as this just confirms to the sender who you are. But do remove yourself from reputable external mailing lists, such as professional newsletters you no longer want.

5. Protect yourself against viruses – make sure you and your ISP have adequate anti-virus software. Do not be tempted to open unusual emails even if they are from known colleagues and friends. If you regularly use the ‘preview panel’ switch it off when you see suspicious emails. Delete them and/or notify your IT department of any suspicious emails.

6. Pick the right medium – email is one of many communications media. Your goal should be to send the right message, right first time. Ask yourself ‘is email the best medium for my message or is there a more effective way’ (eg questions, which really require a face to face discussion), or could you use another form of electronic communications such as instant messaging. This would save your colleagues inboxes being clogged up with short easy to answer queries? Also do you really need to send that joke to everyone in the office? This is one of the biggest causes of internal spam.

7. Pen your email in plain English - write in a clear, concise manner. Before sending the email ask yourself ‘Do I really mean what I have said’? Only address it to those who really need it. Avoid using the ‘cc’ and ‘reply all’ buttons. Use the ‘signature’ function to automatically insert a sign off and to generate template responses.

8. Point out the purpose of your emails – insert a meaningful description in the subject line, including the purpose (eg action or information).

9. Provide time for the recipient - email speeds up the delivery time of your message but it does not necessarily shorten the decision making time. Leave the recipient sufficient time to do justice to your email. Check whether they are in and when they expect your email. How many times do we rush to send an email only to find the recipient is away for the day? Also, don’t request a receipt for your message unless it is vital to know the individual has received your email.

10. Patrol your use of attachments - there are many ways to share information. Increasingly organisations are investing in document management and information sharing technologies such as personal portals and virtual team areas. These are often far superior for disseminating large amounts of information rather than clogging up everyone’s inbox with attachments.

Dr Monica Seeley is the founder of Mesmo Consultancy and a leading authority on the management of information technology, working with clients such as BT, the Cabinet Office and The Department for Education and Skills. For more information visit www.mesmo.co.uk.

Monica is also the author of 'Managing in the email Office'.