Small Business Management: E-Mail Know-How

When you sit down at your computer first thing in the morning, are you dreading the amount of e-mails you have to face? Do you feel like you spend more time addressing e-mail issues than company concerns? If so, you’re not alone.

According to recent surveys, employees now spend as much as 40 percent or more of their workday on e-mail management. For small businesses, this can translate into time and money lost. However, there are some ways you can get control of your e-mail madness, leaving you able to focus on more important business issues. Consider the following:

• You get what you give. Try to cut down on the amount of e-mails you send out. It’s easy to use the “Reply to All” when responding to an e-mail, but is it always necessary? Perhaps only one person needs your response.
• Trim the fat. How often do you get caught up in a flurry of e-mails when you are going to be meeting with the same group of people within hours or days? Are the issues being e-mailed crucial to discuss before the meeting, or can you save your time and energy and wait until the face-to-face opportunity?
• Get to the point. People tend to scan their e-mails at first, looking for pertinent subject heads and priority topics. When you write your e-mails, begin with your subject line and a quick greeting. Write only what is needed to state your purpose, present your point and ask for the action you need taken.
• Coach e-mail addicts. If you have a vendor, supplier or client who is addicted to e-mailing and sends you more than is necessary or productive, have a conversation with that person. Perhaps if they know a weekly phone or face-to-face meeting with you is standard, they won’t feel the need to e-mail you with every small bit of information.
• File smart. Make sure you have a good filing system that works for you. Some find it valuable to file according to priority. Others send their e-mails to subject files, putting “fluff” e-mails in areas that they can get to later. The important thing is to have a good system and make sure it’s effective in helping you cut the e-mail clutter.
• Schedule e-mail time. Set aside times in the day specifically for e-mail reading and responding. Perhaps two times, in the morning and afternoon, will be enough to maintain communications effectively. This sets boundaries, allowing you time to focus on your other business management needs.
• Don’t get emotional. We’ve all composed a message or two in times of anger, frustration or stress. The trick is to wait to send such e-mails for at least one business day, in order to let emotions calm down and make sure you don’t send out something you’ll regret.

Addressing your e-mail overload is one way to streamline your workday and allow you more time to get your business done.