Overwhelmed by work email. AIBU to ask for your tips and tricks to deal with it?

[anotheronenow]

I have a big job. I am in the second year of a promotion to department head. One DC at Uni, one DC at high school. DP in similar but lower stress position (not a head). Get about 100-150 emails every day (some are replies to replies) and I am going under. Can't get them all replied to because I spend all day putting out the fires. The lower priority ones then turn into fires.

Am in first year of menopause so can't remember things the way I used to be able to. I've worked for 25+ years to get where I am, and I am at the top of my game in other ways (research etc), but the lack of ability to deal with email is causing me to to regret my choices. Everything else about my job is great, and I am enjoying the variety, the ability to fix problems, set up systems to help people etc. I've learned so much from wise mumsenetters, how to make a chicken last 3 days, how to choose "naice" ham, how to ask for a diagram if I see the words "parking thread" how to sell my house, get a CCJ against my roofer, so AIBU to ask you how the f**K you deal with your emails so you don't go under?

Emails are e, e.g. from colleagues wanting stuff or questions answered, higher up admins telling me to do stuff I can't do so need to explain, clients needing answers yesterday, lower down admins needing approvals, all coming into same place as colleagues outside organisation who I am collaborating on research with, and responses to my own emails asking people to do stuff usually they want clarification or more guidance and I just don't have time...

[Handsnotwands]

This is what I do

[FleeUpFreeTime]

Have email folders
crap in one
not crap but not worth it yet in another

leave the urgent in inbox then every morning sort through them.
cc replies that you don’t need to be aware of delete
cc replies you need to aware of but don’t have to respond to put in not crap folder

many you can send to brother to deal with send them on and move it from inbox to another folder




youll soon whittle them down to an important 10 or so a day.

[Leakingroofagain]

Delay email sends so you don't play tennis over a day but over a week instead, basically slowing everything down.

Use teams to respond to quick requests, it's much quicker, no 'dear...kind regards' and you can be more brusque without seeming rude.

Set up rules for certain people who are annoying or aren't a priority so you answer their emails once a week.

[WhiteFire]

Emails are stressing me out so much at the moment, to be fair the whole job is really, the emails are relentless.

[Wallywobbles]

Use Slack instead. Much quicker to set up threads and answer there so anyone with the same question can see them.

Are there a lot of FAQs? If so write standard replies and put them somewhere accessible.

Ask for a secretary or assistant.

[daisychain01]

Are you able to use MS Teams, so colleagues can support each other with queries about general processes. That will cut down a chunk of emails.

Focus primarily on client emails.

Empower your direct reports to only send approval requests for certain things (you'll need to set the authority levels, according to what they can reasonably do without having to ask first.)

create a trusting, no-blame and empowering culture - it will take time, results won't be instantaneous but you'll soon notice the difference. Your team will self-manage and know your door is always open for support.

Be aware you may feel like your team doesn't need you, when it becomes a well-oiled machine and they don't need to defer to you at every turn, that's a whole different feeling to get to grips with, but you will have a happy workforce and you will never be accused of micro-managing!

[RomeoOscarXrayIndigoEcho]

Set up rules. I use rules all the time to manage my inbox.

Ie you can set up a rule where you are CCd only for all those emails to go into one folder. Which you set up and check obvs.

Have an out of office response that goes on all emails saying you are dealing with a high volume of email and if it's urgent to [insert option of your choice]

I drag emails into calendar and reminders for important tasks.

I have folder set up with names like urgent/done/follow up and file accordingly

I flag for follow up with a date.

Hope some of these ideas help.

[Apollonia1]

I'm in a senior role and get 100s of emails a day. I work with the US so many come in overnight.
Every morning I spend an hour going through emails/slacks received since I logged off the day before.

• I delete irrelevant ones.
  
• I deal with quick ones (Eg expense approval)
  
• I make a note in a pad of other ones - where I want to read something to catch up or where there is an action for me.
  
• I create meetings for me in my calendar to action the key ones. I move these "action meetings" around as needed.
  
  In the afternoon between meetings I do the same.
  
  I don't bother with different email folders. Everything is just in my inbox, so easy to find. I found previously that keeping up with the different email folders became a job itself.

[NoSquirrels]

I have had many fabulous female bosses of a certain age (it’s a female dominated industry) and without fail all of them do the one-liner replies, short but (mostly) sweet. If you’re a brilliant boss - and I’m sure you are - then try it.

It works to empower people to use their own initiative, it works to make them be concise if they do need to email you, and it shows you’re busy doing higher-level stuff!

Definitely combine it with the ‘check only at scheduled times’ approach.

If you also do the ‘un-cc me’ response enough, it encourages people to add a ‘Boss, just for info, no need to reply’ disclaimer if they DO need to cc you, which is helpful.

[Ccoffee]

I'm an EA. I get my own 100+ emails a day, my boss gets 200+.

I use the same system for both of us. Anything dealt with / read but doesn't need actioning / doesn't need reading, goes in a 'Filed' folder.

Anything non-urgent eg journal articles goes to a 'To Read' folder.

Very occasionally set up a special project folder, but as seldom as possible.

Anything left over that needs to be attended to that day is 'starred', the rest are there but unstarred, to be dealt with when time available. Once every few days we go through his starred items together to check nothing has been missed.

Anything diary related he gets I just send to myself and deal with it, and file it away out of his inbox.

[babbi]

@ReenyRednek

1. Unless they're priority (e.g. from your boss) don't reply to emails until the end of the day. By then half of the problems/queries will have been resolved.
2. If whatever the sender wants is not part of your job, don't do it and don't reply!
3. Shut off the alerts so you are not distracted by constant pings.
4. If you're that high up the ladder you must have a PA or assistant that can screen the mails, and/or that you can delegate some of the minor tasks to?
5. Reply to them by phone if it's faster to explain something rather than writing out instructions.
6. Pass the buck whenever possible!

Excellent advice and that’s where I have now gotten to .

with no exaggeration I received over 200 emails in 1 hour on Friday morning 😩🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I now read those from my boss and 2 others only as they arrive … the rest I leave until the end of the day and end up deleting lots in irrelevant ( to me ) threads …

our company culture is to copy everyone in everything to cover ones own ass … that’s not something I can change …

so I ignore all until later in order that I can get lots done …
should anything be urgent the sender will call me after a period of no response

[Jedsnewstar]

I second the set email time. Power though, have a little note pad next to you to write a little to do list helps.

[Bouledeneige]

I agree with the question about whether you have an assistant. I have a PA who reviews my emails and colour codes urgent v non urgent emails and deals with the calendar/admin type stuff.

Otherwise you need to speak to your manager - if you're only answering emails all day (or not in meetings) then you don't have time for thinking and doing actual projects of work. So it means a number of things. 1) you're insufficiently resourced and need more of a team around you to delegate to and portion out the work. Without additional resource you can't prioritise more important work objectives 2) your line manager needs to help you prioritise what's most important - what to prioritise, delegate or stop doing 3) sone people should be taking more responsibility in their own roles and not keep escalating or diverting them to you 4) the culture of the place is to send too many emails.

I've had staff prioritise doing emails who never then get on with the more important projects and that means they ultimately didn't succeed in their role. So better to avoid that. Explain your situation with your boss, set out your priorities and seek advice about what should be delegated to others.

[inheritanceshiteagain]

Go onto HRT if you find yourself in a bit of brain fog and delegate the emails to other people?

[motherofcatsandbears]

Have you got an assistant who can help you?
Can you give someone else delegate access to your email? They can then deal with the less pressing mail and leave the more important things to you?

[EmiliaAirheart]

Obviously that’s a simple example and the actual content varies between industries. I’m a lawyer and there are lots of things I say frequently and adapt slightly, so autocorrect shorthand helps me get my ideas out faster and my fingers can almost keep pace with my brain!

[EmiliaAirheart]

You also need to cut down on the time it takes to reply to an email. Use autocorrect, quick parts and templates (I do sentences and paragraphs through autocorrect, any multiple paragraphs in either quickparts or templates). There must be basic structures and sentences you use constantly that would work for this.

It could be as simple as “qri” (which mentally you know stands for quarterly report input) to expand into “Hi team, can you please send me the quarterly report figures by COB tomorrow”.

You can also use XXXX for the part that changed often (eg maybe it’s not a quarterly report every time, or maybe the deadline changes). I like XXXX because it’s always noticeable enough not to miss when you’re filling the gaps in.

[iwanttobreakfree1234]

Forgot my final tip - put by deadline in the subject line and ask your team to do the same

[Beancounter1]

My tip is that the inbox is the to-do list.

Quickly skim-read through each email when it arrives (or when you are in your 'doing emails' time slot).
Ask yourself "do I need to do anything?"

If the answer is no, then either immediately either A) hit delete, or B) drag it into another folder for reference. (Have folders by topic or project. Have one for miscellaneous stuff that you don't know if you can delete immediately as you may just need it again.) DON'T leave the email in the inbox.

If the answer is yes, either A) reply immediately if it is quick and simple and takes very little thought, THEN DELETE the email because your reply will be in the Sent folder, or B) leave it in the inbox to action in due course.

Once a week or fortnight, may be on Friday when you are too tired to do anything else, go through the Sent folder, and either A) if the matter is closed or you had a reply, either hit delete, or drag your email into the relevant folder for future reference, or B) if you are waiting for a reply, re-forward with a polite one-liner "Did you get a chance to look at this yet?" or similar, then DELETE the first email you sent, keeping only the second.

Keep on top of the deleting - this system only works if you keep on always deleting or dragging.
The system forces you to ask that initial question "do I need to do anything?" and so keeps you thinking clearly and making decisions.

If at the end of the day/week you still have too many 'to-do' emails waiting in your inbox, then you need to look at your general efficiency and your workload. Are you wasting time in meetings? Are you spending too long 'prettying-up' spreadsheets or documents unnecessarily and unproductively? Is your workload too high? If it is a workload problem, tell your manager this every two months until something is done.

[introverteccentric]

@anotheronenow

I have a big job. I am in the second year of a promotion to department head. One DC at Uni, one DC at high school. DP in similar but lower stress position (not a head). Get about 100-150 emails every day (some are replies to replies) and I am going under. Can't get them all replied to because I spend all day putting out the fires. The lower priority ones then turn into fires.

Am in first year of menopause so can't remember things the way I used to be able to. I've worked for 25+ years to get where I am, and I am at the top of my game in other ways (research etc), but the lack of ability to deal with email is causing me to to regret my choices. Everything else about my job is great, and I am enjoying the variety, the ability to fix problems, set up systems to help people etc. I've learned so much from wise mumsenetters, how to make a chicken last 3 days, how to choose "naice" ham, how to ask for a diagram if I see the words "parking thread" how to sell my house, get a CCJ against my roofer, so AIBU to ask you how the f**K you deal with your emails so you don't go under?

Emails are e, e.g. from colleagues wanting stuff or questions answered, higher up admins telling me to do stuff I can't do so need to explain, clients needing answers yesterday, lower down admins needing approvals, all coming into same place as colleagues outside organisation who I am collaborating on research with, and responses to my own emails asking people to do stuff usually they want clarification or more guidance and I just don't have time...

Email filters, I get a similar amount of emails like you do and I have them auto rerouted via outlook, high priority come directly into my inbox and the less important or time sensitive divert into another folder to pick up as and when - worked for me for the past 4yrs and people roughly know when to expect a response from me.

[PurplePansy05]

I think you may need a mid-level manager below you.

Second idea, speak to your colleagues whom you supervise and ask if they could do wrap up emails - for example instead of emailing you 25 times a day in relation to the same matter, can they do a wrap up email with bullet points/a summary once a day?

[LiftyLift]

Loads of great tips here. I manage other people’s emails as well as my own and my biggest tip I have is to “view by conversation”. It means if you have lots of emails going back and forth on the one chain it groups them together. Less lines are taken up in outlook and it pulls the email to the top of the inbox when there is a new reply. It’s helped a lot of the execs I work with who often miss replies to things.

[topcat2014]

I'm in the second year of my first C level job.

I set up rules so that I see emails from the CEO in one folder. Internal emails in another then external emails elsewhere.

I just click on the thanks icon in outlook 365 rather than replying.

Never bother with "hi John" etc at the start or anything other than auto sig at the end.

Never manually move an email between folders.

Remember if it is really important they will ring :).

Oh, and change your systems so your staff don't need you to have to approve transactions etc on any IT stuff.

[Speedweed]

Love this thread! My tips are:

1.get rid of all the separate fiddly folders - you inevitably have to do a search in them to find what you need (and if you're working at speed you'll inevitably misfile etc), and just have one called 'Read'.

1. When you open your emails, look through them all and immediately dump any that don't need a reply or work to be done on them in 'Read', to get them out of your inbox. Don't delete anything, just dump it in Read. Read then becomes a record of your entire inbox, just out of sight.

1. Emails that require action stay in your inbox, so they become your 'to do' list. Once they are done, move them into Read.

1. Agree with others about turning of notifications and limiting the times you open your email.

5.This is key: Tell everyone that reports into you that if you ask them to go and do something (eg, ask Sally for the quarterly sales figures to do some analysis on them), you don't need them to copy you into their email to Sally, because you then you get Sally's response, usually a few chasers, then the sales figures from Sally, then the email from your report with the actual bit of work. Ifou can trust them (a) to follow instructions and (b) to send a suitably worded email, you only need to see the email containing the work you asked them to do.

Be strict with this and it will vastly, vastly cut down your pointless email traffic.

1. Generally dissuade people from copying you in - often reports do it as a 'I've copied her in, so if it's wrong, she'll tell me' thing, but you don't have time to check every email so it never stops mistakes anyway, so encourage them not to copy you in for 'protection'.

1. Ditto if they send 'thanks' or chatty emails. I don't think it's good to dissuade people from being polite, and sometimes if someone has gone over and above to pull work together, a thank you email is appropriate, but there's never need to include all the cc's...

1. Delay responses, and where you can, if you don't need a reply that day, send them out at towards the end of the day so you'll hopefully get the responses the next day, to slow things down.

1. If you can, set a daily (or twice daily) query time (an hour or so) when reports can call you with any questions. This might also cut down on interrupting IMs.

[MedSchoolRat]

OP: One of my colleagues says he ignores the first 2 emails from most everyone, only acts on the 3rd request. He is in extremely high demand & famously hard to get replies from. Beyond caring if he pisses off senior management.

Put an out of office on saying "emails sent after 5pm or on weekends will be deleted", then follow through on this.

That is hard core. I know it's supposed to be possible to schedule emails to be sent only in work hours, but I can't get that schedule utility to work. So a reply like above would make me have to set reminders to myself to send the sodding email that X who is too important to read because not sent at their special time. Not a good atmosphere for collaboration.

As a science researcher, My biggest work problem is ... people who don't reply to emails. I have a long list of people who are supposed to be my colleagues but they ignore my emails so my own work can't progress. I am ~ 50% as productive as I could be if only everyone replied to my outstanding queries within 3 working days (as opposed to never, or replying 3-4 weeks later with about 3 sentences). I will get in trouble if I try to proceed without their ok or I literally cannot get an essential task done without their/someone's help. I don't even have phone numbers for most of them. To try to resolve the issue over phone isn't realistic since the whole request is often "Please read this many-page document and send comments & your approval." I try setting reasonable deadlines for response and then a week after deadline there's a meeting where someone says "Oh yes, I must send you comments on that document" because people ignore deadlines. <sigh>