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E-mail: Keeping the Most Popular Form of Business Communication Under Control

 

When the workday used to come to a lull, many people would get up from their desks to talk to co-workers in person. Today, however, the majority of people grab for their mouse and click their way to the infamous "Inbox."

 

Interestingly, according to recent studies reported on Onvia.com by Gartner Inc., 52 percent of business users check E-mail more than six times a day, while 34 percent of users check their E-mail constantly throughout the day. The "always on" feature that alerts people when new messages arrive has redefined the workday where an average person spends at least 49 minutes per day managing E-mail.

 

Many might question why something so simple is taking over our work and home lives. The major presence of E-mail in our lives probably is due to the fact that it is so easy and accessible. This is what can make it so dangerous.

So, before clicking that send button and sending your message into never, never land, consider these following time saving and E-mail saving tips.

• Take a Break: Even though you may think it's impossible, try taking a day off from E-mail every once in awhile. According to the Gartner Inc. study, 42 percent of users check their business E-mail while on vacation while 23 percent check their inbox on weekends. Don't worry if you take a break from E-mail, all of your messages will be patiently waiting in your inbox when you return to E-mail mania.
• Be aware of no nonsense notes: If you allow it to prosper, your E-mail inbox will quickly become jam packed with unnecessary notes from co-workers. Pictures and jokes may give you a chuckle, but they can end up costing you a lot of valuable time. Gartner Inc.'s survey showed that business users receive an average of 22 aimless messages per day, while only 27 percent of these messages require immediate attention and 34 percent are unimportant notes from co-workers.
• Make sure your note says what you mean: Just because you are using E-mail as your form of business communication doesn't mean that you forget everything you learned in grade school English classes. Friends and family may not get offended if you misspell a word or misuse punctuation, but you can better believe that a supervisor or client may be turned off. As a rule of thumb - keep messages clean, short and to the point.