You know the scenario. A million things to do. A busy schedule ahead. And then you open your email inbox and the deluge begins. Three hours later and you still haven’t caught up. Email fatigue – it’s the condition of the modern age, and it’s killing productivity.

As social media aficionados we’re big fans of the way email can integrate with social. A well written, useful and relevant email is a welcome addition to my inbox. Junk spam and unnecessary conversations? To be avoided at all costs. Email fatigue is the result of two things:

• mailing irrelevant content
• mailing too frequently

So, whether you want to sort out your own inbox or stop your customers hitting unsubscribe, here’s six tips to make your email use more productive and less exhausting in 2016:

Change your habits

It can seem easier initially to send a quick email to a customer or supplier, but this often triggers a succession of emails that eat into your working day. Make a judgement call early on: will this issue be more easily resolved with a phone call? Spending 30 minutes at the start of the day phoning everyone that you need to speak to can save you double that in emails later on. Changing your habits encourages other people to as well.

Set aside email time

Make time for email – it’s important after all – and then don’t touch it in between. An hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon will be hugely productive because it is dedicated email time. You can follow up on leads, make enquiries, liaise and arrange. And then get on with your real work the rest of the time. This approach only works if you turn off notifications on your phone, tablet, laptop or desktop every time you receive an email. Got clients that may need an urgent response? Give them your mobile number.

Understand when email works – and when it doesn’t

Email can be great for certain things, and less good for others. Understanding when it works best and when it doesn’t means you’ll use it more effectively. Email can be good for group conversations and as a source of news and learning. Email is terrible for arranging meetings or events, or for urgent questions or enquiries. Need to know something quickly? Pick up the phone. Need to arrange a meeting or event with several people? Use Doodle Poll – it offers easy scheduling without all the back and forth of email.

Get organised

Whatever email provider you use, it pays to get organised. Segment your inbox using different folders. Gmail offers good search functionality and is streamlined and easy to use. Prioritise your email tasks, and keep on top of what needs doing.

Schedule

I’m a big fan of the Gmail plug in Boomerang, because it allows you to schedule emails brilliantly. Other email providers have similar options, but the key benefit to such a plug in is twofold:

• You can write an email and then schedule it to be sent at a specific time. Perfect for when you remember you need to email a client last thing at night, but don’t actually want to pester them last thing at night. Write the email and send it in the morning. Bingo.
• You can set when you want to receive emails. Ideal for when you open an email but don’t have time to address it there and then. Use Boomerang to set it to reappear as a reminder when you will be able to look at it.

Don’t delete – unsubscribe

If you’re anything like me you’ll have subscribed to various emails over the years, usually because the content is – or was – useful. Whilst this is great for learning or keeping abreast of trends and offers, it takes up valuable time and we often find ourselves deleting instead of reading or unsubscribing.

So, next time you receive your weekly bulletin, ask yourself this: Is this content useful to me? If it is, put it to one side in a Learning folder (or similar) and read when you have the time. If it isn’t, don’t just delete the email, follow the link at the bottom and unsubscribe from that mailing.

Make it count

My final tip is one of common courtesy. We all hate unnecessary and boring emails – so stop sending them! Whether it’s a note to a colleague or a client, the same rules apply: would I want to receive this email? Avoid waffle, get straight to the point and if it can be avoided by using a tool like Doodle Poll or a phone call, then don’t send it.

As someone who sends a weekly email to thousands of readers, I only want it to be received by people who find it useful and relevant for their business. As someone who receives hundreds of emails each week, my time is too precious to be wasted. Worried people will unsubscribe from your email list? Hint: They won’t if your content is good – it really is that simple.

Got any other tips for avoiding email fatigue? I’d love to hear them.