These days, businesses use email far more than any other form of communication. Unfortunately, while email has many advantages, checking and managing a single account can occupy a lot of time. Studies show that the average worker wastes more than 10% of their day checking emails. However, even with all that time spent checking messages; inboxes can still end up getting flooded.
For business administrators, managing email messages from clients, employees, and suppliers is an important part of ensuring that an office runs smoothly. This is why administrators are experts at managing their inboxes, budgeting time for emails, and not letting their email accounts get in the way of other important tasks that must be handled.
If you’re thinking about enrolling in business administrator courses, or you have already started your program, read on to learn how to effectively manage your inbox.
Business Administrators Designate Set Times for Checking Email
An incoming email can interrupt your day or distract you from an important task. Over time, these distractions can add up, causing you to fall behind on other administrative duties. To avoid distraction, try limiting the amount of times you check your emails each day. In some cases, office administrators schedule specific times to check their emails. And they only allow themselves to reply to messages during those designated timeslots.
For example, you might give yourself an hour each morning to check and reply to emails, a few minutes after lunch, and perhaps 15 minutes towards the end of the day.
By turning off automatic email alerts, you will be able to minimize distractions from new messages and focus on the task at hand – whether it’s entering payroll data or answering previous emails.
Office Administrators Answer Short Emails First
As you answer and sort through emails, one rule of thumb is to start with the shorter emails and save the longer ones for later. Answering short emails will help you clear many messages from your inbox quickly.
For longer emails that require more of your time, it is sometimes best to mark them as unread, file them, and deal with them at a later date when you can dedicate your full attention to the task.
Excellent Communication Skills Keep Business Administrators on Top of Their Inboxes
Experts with business administration training know that effective communication skills are important in an office environment, especially when communicating by email. A carefully worded and edited email can prevent you from receiving follow-up emails containing questions regarding clarification. It also prevents unfortunate miscommunications that can result in angry clients, frustrated employees, and even more time wasted.
Effective Filing Keeps Business Administrators Organized
In today’s often paperless offices, filing might seem like an organizational task of the past; however, it is still necessary. During your business administration classes, you will learn how to effectively organize your workspace (including your emails) by creating a filing and storage system that works for you.
Business administrators know how to organize emails effectively by “filing” them into specific categories. Doing so ensures that they know which ones are urgent and which ones can wait. Additionally, an effective email filing system can help office administrators locate and retrieve any important emails quickly.
Are you interested in learning more by enrolling in business courses? Check out our diploma program for more information or to speak with an advisor.
