How much time do you spend checking your email and responding to messages each day? I am constantly connected to my email and the idea of ‘inbox zero’ sounds like just a dream seeing as how the messages never stop flooding in.
The Washington Post referenced an Adobe study which indicated the average worker spends 4.1 hours checking email each day which adds up to 20.5 hours per week or more than 1,000 hours per year.
For a busy small business owner, I can imagine those numbers might be even greater.
The main problem with checking email constantly as a business owner is the time and effort it takes to sort through the messages you want to read and the ones you don’t. Plus, email management is not a paid work task if you are self-employed.
If you’ve been wondering whether or not you should outsource email management, here are a few deciding factors you might want to consider.
You Get a Lot of Spam Email
Spam email is the worst. Nobody wants it, but everyone gets it. Unfortunately, some people get much more spam than others. If you don’t even read spam emails anymore and simply delete them when you receive them, you are probably still wasting seconds and minutes of your day which can add up.
If you are tired of reading and deleting emails from strangers who are offering you their $10 million inheritance, you might want to consider hiring someone to deal with these emails so you can focus on earning a profit.
Your Email Inbox is Pure Chaos
If your email inbox is disorganized, you could be missing out on some important messages and opportunities as a result. While some people will follow up after they’ve sent an important message that went unanswered to ensure you received it, others may not and it could damage a client relationship or ruin a potential partnership before it has even started.
If you don’t have the time to get your inbox under control, outsourcing this task may provide you with the peace-of-mind you need.
You Can’t Go an Hour Without Checking Your Email
Many of us are addicted to email. I get it. A line does have to be drawn though. If you are constantly checking your email every five minutes during the work day and reading and responding to messages from your phone even after you’ve finished work for the day, you probably won’t have time to get anything productive done.
I know three minutes here and five minutes there might not seem like a lot of time, but time is money and sometimes every minute counts when you’re trying to run a successful business.
Your time needs to be balanced and your energy needs to be disbursed among a variety of work responsibilities. Checking email all day long and responding promptly may make you appear to be attentive and professional, but you won’t have any time to complete paid work as a result.
What an Email Manager Can Do
Ideally, a virtual assistant who provides email management services can:
- Send and respond to messages on your behalf
- Get rid of spam messages
- Organize a chaotic and cluttered inbox
- Unsubscribe you from unwanted email lists
- File away important messages in specific email folders so they can be easily recovered when you need them
- Provide you with a daily (or regular) report of important messages that are timely and need your attention
Summary: Win Back Your Time By Distancing Yourself From Email
Imagine what you could accomplish when you don’t have to spend several hours each week managing your email inbox. You don’t have to disconnect from email permanently, but hiring someone to help filter our messages and manage your inbox can help you gain back more time and more control over your email. It’s a definitely win-win!
