Manage email

- As an administrative professional, it's likely that you'll be juggling a few different email accounts as you handle your own inbox and your executive's. Handling multiple emails can sometimes be a bit hectic, but there are a few things that can help you make sure you don't miss anything in your email. Go through your email first thing. Get any urgent requests done and out of the way. Your colleagues will be pleasantly surprised to learn that when they copy you on the emails, things get done a bit quicker and you can get on with your day. Go through your executive's email next. This will allow you to know what the day will look like based on what emails have come in, and also what priorities will need to be shifted. You may have a task or a to-do list, and that may have changed based on what emails have come in overnight. Be sure that you read every email, even the ones marked as red. Your executive may have gone through the emails already, so this will help you have a better understanding of which emails needed to be responded to. For an email that requires action, flag it for follow-up. You can print those emails out so when you meet with your executive you can discuss the action that needs to be taken. Go ahead and take on any scheduling emails. If someone sends an email requesting a conference call or a meeting, you can easily answer those emails since you handle your executive's calendar. If there's a problem you can solve, do so. To help your executive out, answer those emails that you or someone else can easily handle. For example, if someone's looking for a document that's probably a task you can do yourself or delegate. Delete junk emails. Delete spam so it doesn't clutter your executive's email. For emails or newsletters that continually come in, just unsubscribe them from the list or block the sender. The key is to come up with a system that works for both you and your executive. Keep in mind that the more you can eliminate from their email, the easier it will be for both of you, as you'll have less to worry about. Taking control of email will also help in the future as requests will likely come directly to you instead of cluttering up your executive's email. It's very easy for emails to get lost, deleted, or overlooked when your executive's inbox is loaded with unnecessary messages. By using these tips, you can eliminate a lot of clutter, which will make both of your jobs just a little bit easier.