Continuing from my previous post about bad habits, here are some email specific habits that need breaking.

1) Keeping a full inbox is cumbersome, and slows down productivity.  Many people strive for “inbox zero” (keeping your inbox empty), but the idea is to keep your inbox as small as possible.  Email programs (even web based ones) will allow you to create folders to organize your emails.  Use the “three d’s” method of dealing with emails.  Do It (take care of the email immediately, then file it), Ditch It (if it is not worth your time, delete it or unsubscribe from it), and Delegate It (if it is actually someone else’s job to take care of that, forward it to them, and delete it).

2) Don’t respond to SPAM.  If you do, you have essentially confirmed that your email address is valid, and you will get much more. Unsubscribe if you can, setup a SPAM filter, or in severe cases, change your email address.

3) Think before you reply.  Write your reply, and then read it over again.  Make sure that you have not said something you will regret, or will get you into trouble.  Have you fully answered the question or explained yourself clearly? Also, double check the recipients… did you click “Reply” or “Reply All”?

Personally, I get probably a hundred or more emails every day… and I currently have three in my inbox. Everything else has either been dealt with, filed, deleted, or scheduled in my calendar to take care of.