A lot of the people I work with find emails an anxiety inducing and time consuming part of their job. In this post we’ll be looking at some ideas for how we can soothe and smooth the email stress and start making them work for you and your creativity, as opposed to against it. As always, let me know what you found useful in the comments below.
TIP 1: USE A SEPARATE EMAIL ACCOUNT FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR WORK RELATED MATTERS
You don’t need to use your personal email accounts to keep things personal.
Benefits:
You won’t be interrupted by work emails whilst you’re not working!
You won’t be interrupted by personal matters whilst you head is trying to focus on a work email (we already have enough distractions to deal with on your phone and the internet).
It helps you to set and uphold stronger boundaries.
It’s cleaner and clearer and this separation and clarity creates clarity in the mind (as well as your inbox!)
TIP 2: USE YOUR OUT OF OFFICE & EMAIL SIGNATURE
Let people know how you use your work emails. Such as the frequency at which you check them and reply to them. This way, they can respect the time it takes you to reply and you can avoid feeling on the back foot or ‘behind’ on your emails.
Let the people you work with know this through a friendly verbal or face-to-face conversation
Use your Automatic Out Of Office Function
Use your Email Signature
Benefits:
You manage other peoples expectations around when you will be able to respond.
You can go about your actual business (eg. Not be on emails!) without the looming panic or worry that someone is getting annoyed waiting for you to reply.
You can create fixed days and times when you do check your emails.
As a creative person being chained to your emails is certainly not what you came into business to do. Chances are you are in creative in flow when you are (insert any other task that requires you aren’t reading or writing emails).
The trouble is a lot of the working world are sat behind a desk glued to their emails. The immediacy at which people can send and receive information is next level. Even if you are glued to your emails 24/7 - which we’re aiming not to be - it’s not humanly possible to keep up to date with it all.
Don’t assume people know your whereabouts or that you aren’t always on emails. In fact, most people are just overwhelmed thinking about their own workload, they haven’t stopped to think about the way in which you work.
Here’s my Email Signature as an example:
“For new and existing clients, I’ll aim to get back to you within 2-3 working days. I let everyone I work with know that in their replies to me, in their own time is always the right time.
I don’t receive emails on my phone so when I’m with clients & collaborators, out and about, travelling or simply not at work… I’m not on emails. Lovely!”
TIP 3: DON’T HIDE BEHIND YOUR EMAILS
As a creative person, more often than not what you are communicating will be highly nuanced and complex. It’s not a given that email communication saves time. And it’s not a given that email is the best way to communicate. Your creativity requires time because you are exchanging ideas and concepts.
Just because someone communicates with you over email or asks you to ‘put it in an email’, does not mean email is the best and only way you can communicate back with them.
Ask yourself:
Is writing and sending an email really the best way to communicate my ideas or thoughts?
Is there scope for mis-interpretation that’s going to come back to bite me later down the line?
Is composing an email going to slow me down and get me in muddle?
Then ask yourself, is there a better way to communicate?
A face-to-face meeting (or video call)?
A phone call?
A phone call followed by an email to round it up?
A email followed by a request to verbally talk them through the email?
Something else?
Benefits
You ensure that your creative process, ideas and projects flow through the correct communication channels, avoiding any confusion or blockages.
You feel understood and respected.
You build better relationships, which is turn can support your creative process.
HAVE YOUR SAY
What communication tools do you like using? Please share any tips and insights in the comments below.