According to sidsavara.com, the average U.S. worker spends 13 hours per week reading, writing or responding to email. That time can be double after coming back from a vacation. If you’re feeling overwhelmed when you open your email inbox then you should take look at these additional tips in the second half of this two-part article; we’ll help you get through the clutter without losing your mind.

Stop and Evaluate

Not every email needs an immediate reply, but every email needs an action from you. You can reply, not reply or save it for later. When determining which to do, ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Who sent it? If it’s your boss or client, reply within a reasonable amount of time.
• What is the urgency? Is the email crucial to a project that you need to stop everything and reply immediately? Most emails can wait a bit for a response.
• What is my “call to action?” For example, do I need more information from the sender? Do I need to forward it to my boss? Be clear about what next steps need to be taken.

Learn Your Email Values

A lot of time you spend dealing with email is spent writing emails and clearing up confusion with emails you sent earlier. To combat this, try spending more time working on practicing good email habits. When you write an email make sure to be clear, relevant and make it actionable. The less time you spend communicating simple ideas, the less time you’ll spend sifting through your inbox.

Folders, Labels, Notations and Your Inbox

One of the best ways to keep your email inbox from becoming overwhelming, after coming back from a vacation, is to use folders, labels and notations. If you handle many clients consider making a folder in your inbox for each one and subfolders if you need too. Some email providers also allow you to label emails with names so you can find them more easily.

If you’ve read the email and you know you have to come back to it but don’t have time at that moment, note it. Many email providers have stars and colors that you can use to distinguish important emails from others. This can also make life easier when scrolling through your folders.

Consider Declaring Email Destruction

It may seem a little extreme and not everyone will be able to do this, but you may want to consider deleting all emails that you received while you were on vacation. You can set up auto-responder message to say something like:

“Due to the high volume of emails I will receive during my vacation or over the holiday break, I will delete all messages. If you really need me to see your message, please resend after the holidays or call me directly.”

This will definitely set expectations for folks trying to reach you when you’re on vacation. This is a great way to clear your inbox once you’ve returned from vacation too. It also lets people know that if it’s an important message they need to contact you once you’re back in the office.

Time is everyone’s most valuable resource and these are just a few tips you should consider when you’re overwhelmed with hundreds of emails. The goal at the end of the day is to spend less time rummaging through your email inbox and getting your work done.

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Photo Credit: Bobbie