I was asked a question on how to become a more effective user of email , so I thought I’d share what works for me …
– Don’t read your emails first thing, or you’ll spend the rest of the day following somebody elses priorities. Organize your day first, then read your emails.
– When reading emails , try and touch each email only once. Delete it, forward it , respond to it or diary a time to deal with a specific issue.
– If you don’t already have an email address , sign up for Gmail. Not only does it automatically stop a lot of Spam for you, but it allows you to organise your emails by search , pretty much like you do on the web.
– If you’re a small business , you can also switch your email hosting to Gmail (and leave your web site where it is) using ‘Google for your domain‘. You keep your existing emails (e.g. johnmurphy@firstpartners.net) , have the same excellent anti-spam filters and are still able to use Outlook to get your email. While you sacrifice some privacy, it means that your email is available even when your website is not. It also gives you web and mobile access to your email when you are on the road.
– If you own your own webname (domain, e.g. firstpartners.net), setup a ‘catchall’ email address that forwards mail automatically your own email account. This means that you sign up for a new website (e.g. newcars.ie) you can use an email address of newcars@yourdomain.com. Not only does it make it easier to block spam , if they try selling your information to a3rd party, you’ll know straight away.
– Get to know RSS (news feeds). They’re integrated into the latest browsers and Google has a version called ‘reader’. You choose when you want to read the ‘latest news’ from websites, instead of newsletters polluting your inbox.
Paul Browne 