Email Tips Part 2

31.Don't send email attachments to mobile devices. If you know that a colleague will be using their mobile device to check email for an extended period of time, avoid sending him or her attachments. Send a snippet of text instead, if possible, or a URL where they can download when they have access to a laptop or desktop.

32. Use mobile email sparingly. Cellular wireless data plans often have a monthly bandwidth cap. Sending attachments (or receiving them) can be hazardous to your wallet. Some mobile email services function by letting you see that you have attachments, but others will automatically download. So for the sake of you and your colleagues wallets save the attachments for later. Productivity, Folders, and FilteringEmail is only a useful technology if it remains an efficient means of communicating. The dual threats of spam and disorganization make email less efficient, so overcoming those deficiencies is the theme of this section.

33. Respond promptly. Don't leave email unread for more than two days. Look at it immediately and either respond to it immediately, or -- after reading it -- move it to a "must respond" folder.
34.Repond promptly, part 2. Acceptable email response time for personal emails is 24 hours. Acceptable professional response time varies by industry. Know your expected response time and check your email accordingly.

35. Respond promptly, part 3. If someone sends you an excessively long email and you do not have time to respond to the entire email, respond with a brief email acknowledging its receipt and your intent to reply in more detail.

36. I go to pieces. If you receive an email which must be responded to in its entirety but requires a substantial investment in time to respond to, respond to it in parts. Quote each original point that you are responding to, so it is clear what you are referring to. Make it clear that you are responding in parts, or else the recipient may wonder if you missed the latter part of their message.

37. Exercise discipline. Check your email at regular intervals. Whether its every 5 minutes or
every 5 days, people need to be able to rely upon your response time, so come up with a schedule that works for you and stick with it.

38. Organize by Urgency. Email clients and web-mail applications like Hotmail and Gmail will allow you to sort your emails in the order with which you need to respond to them. Consider making 'Urgent', 'Must Respond', 'Personal', 'Information' and 'Misc' folders. Then move inbox messages accordingly. You can make this sorting process more automatic by applying filters to email addresses, so that your email client will do the sorting for you.

39. Be selective. Not every email you receive requires a response. 'FYI' and group emails, for instance, should be read and filed. Non-work-related email from strangers should be forwarded to your home email address for later consideration.

40. Be quick. Email you send at work should consist of questions if you need information, or declarative sentences if you are supplying it. At work, email is best used for the transfer of knowledge - chatty banter and essays are best saved for other venues.

41. Know your limits. Don't subscribe to dozens of free "tips" sites if you don't have time to read the items. If you feel must do this, for whatever reason, use a freebie email address for this or consider an RSS feed instead.

42. Cut to the chase. Sometimes a text chat is the best way to resolve a communication quickly, instead of sending a dozen emails back and forth. By keeping the bank and forth emails to a minimum, you keep your inbox under control and prevent the need to declare email bankruptcy and starting all over.

43. Do what the Gurus do. There are a number of great writers who focus almost exclusively on tips to keep you technologically organized. Some Gurus of note: Merlin Mann of 43-Folders, mentioned elsewhere in this article, and David Allen, author of Getting Things Done are good examples.

44. GTD - get things done. Don't move anything from your main inbox into a folder if you haven't read it yet. It's likely to stay that way. Read it, respond, and file it. That way, your main inbox holds only unread messages. Or at worst, those you haven't responded to yet. This makes it easier to "get things done" more efficiently, in terms of email-triggered tasks.

45. Be specific with email titles. An email's subject line is what enables its recipient(s) to appropriately handle it. The famed 'Re:' standing alone on a subject field is either spam, or a response to one of your less-informative titles. Specificity not only facilitates easy filing, but makes locating a given email in your sent box months after the fact (when you need to prove something, or again find that bon mot) a heckuva lot less time-consuming.

46. Use freebie accounts. Always use freebie accounts for all those "free" subscriptions you sign up for. No matter what they tell you, you will get unsolicited mail as a result, at some point in the future. And it'll clutter your inbox, making you less productive.

47. Blacklist Spam emails. Don't just delete the spam you get sent, blacklist it. By blocking the sender of spam emails you can drastically cut down on the total amount of spam you get. Surprisingly, a good amount of spam is from repeat senders, so a few months of diligent blacklisting can keep spammers at bay.

48. Enable spam filters. Most email clients, including freebie webmail types, have spam filtering that can be turned on or off. They are not 100% accurate, so you should make a habit of visually scanning your spam folder to ensure you haven't missed anything important. But that inconvenience is still worth leaving the filter on.

49. Ditch your spammed out email account. If you have a freebie account that is loaded with incoming spam, save all your important contact info, backup desired emails, then ditch the email address. Get another one and then notify all your contacts. Don't forget to update any websites where your address is published.

50. Prevent email overload. Kaitlin Duck Sherwood has a handy, quick guide to preventing email overload. One that is simple but effective is to say "no need to respond", or some such, if a response is not necessary.Email AttachmentsThe ability to attach documents has revolutionized the way in which we do business. Despite its benefits, however, attachments are one of the least standardized parts of emailing.