Tip #1: Schedule a fixed time to review emails.

Depending on your position within your organization and the priority and frequency of the emails you receive, schedule specific times to review emails and review them only at those times. And set a max amount of time to spend at each review. Once that time is reached, move on to other items on your "to do" list. Why? Because constantly checking emails throughout the day distracts you from other priorities. The more frequent the distractions, the less you focus, and the more stressed you become at not feeling productive.

Tip #2: Filter emails by importance.

Emails that are CC'ed to you may not be as important as those sent to you directly. These are sent F.Y.I. and should be reviewed, but not necessarily responded to. Respond sparingly to these emails. Generally, the more TO: and CC: recipients, the more replies the email attracts.

Tip #3: Don't feel compelled to answer every email.

Reading emails is not the major consumer of your time. Where your time gets gobbled up is in the reply. You need to think, then write, review and proof, and think some more as you consider whether your "real" meaning and intent are being conveyed through your written word. So reply only when you really need to.

Tip #4: Set up a Reply Folder.

If you need to reply to an email you've read, but you cannot do it right then, consider moving it to a different folder - a Reply folder. At the time you read the email, in your mind you have already filtered it and considered your required action. If you leave the email in your Inbox (and do not move the email into a different folder such as "Reply"), you will spend double the amount of time on that email, because you will re-filter it again at your next scheduled email review time.

Tip #5: Be kind to others when replying.

If you must reply to an email that has multiple TO: and CC: recipients, consider whether your response needs to go to everyone who received the email, or to just one or two. If you determine that your response is relevant to only one or two, kindly remove other recipients' names prior to hitting your "send" button.

Tip #6: Set up a Read Folder.

If you read briefly and then determine the email to be a "read later" type of email, move it to a "Read" folder. And just as with your Inbox, schedule a reading time on that folder to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the number of emails that can accumulate in that folder.

Tip #7: Develop a "Do Not Send To Me..." response.

Well-meaning colleagues and friends can bombard your Inbox with inspirational messages, chain letters and poems, and similar email types that they simply "forward" to your attention. You may feel obligated to read these, however, the vast number received can eat up valuable time and cause undue stress if the message ends with a warning that you'll drop dead if you don't forward the email to 25 people within 15 minutes. So devise a standardized, but tactful, response that you can send asking these well- meaning colleagues and friends to not send you this type email. Don't be afraid to manage your Inbox and your time by sending this friendly "plea."

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"A Leadership Moment" is designed to give you brief tips to help you become more productive. We wish to provide only relevant information, so if you found this information useful please let us know. And if you have additional tips that work for you, share them and we'll share your tip with others and give you the credit.

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