I struggle with this issue and can be easily distracted by a phone call or a tendency to check my emails more often than is probably needed.It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn’t matter how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work done.

I’m going to share some of my favorite time management skills with you in this post. I hope that you find them helpful.

• My personal favorite – cut the clutter. Keep a clean desk and desktop; clutter can be very distracting.
   
• Use your peak productivity time well and make sure you get sufficient rest. Coffee will not assist you forever. It’s okay to take breaks throughout the day. Some of us are “morning people” and others are “night owls.” You know what your strengths and weaknesses are better than anyone else does.
   
• It’s most important to know how you structure your day and manage your time that makes the difference. Know the best days and times to target your prospective clients or targeted companies, which may be different than you think at first .
   
• Set daily goals for yourself and make sure you don't work past your burn out time. This might include networking in person, making follow-up calls, writing a business proposal or putting a budget together – each day complete one specific goal – you’ll feel much better being able to check something off your “to do” list.
   
• It’s absolutely okay to block out some non-planned activities. Life happens and there will also be some unexpected events or emergencies to deal with. Or maybe you’re under the weather.
   
• Plan for some specific time away from the computer and phone, 30 minutes a day. By that, I don’t mean a coffee break or to eat a meal. Take a walk, run some errands, do other things to take your mind off your business. Meet a friend for a cup of coffee.
   
• Start your day by prioritizing what you need to get done (your to-do list!). Block time out on your calendar each day to ensure that you get work done.
   
• When you are on a deadline and you need to finish something – Close your door (if you have one): Put your phone on "send to voicemail," close your email and turn off the instant messenger. It is liberating! Not everything is urgent; yes, some things can wait until the next day
   
• Minimizing distractions – distractions are a big time waster. A lot of us have this constant urge to check our email every 15 minutes. There are many other common distractions and it is important to limit them.
   
• Make sure social networks serve your purpose. Do you really need to be on all of them? Pick one or two that are really important and discard the rest. Be careful not to check your social sites while at work. It is a big time waster even if “Big Brother” is not watching.
   
• Prioritize your social media activities. As you are arranging your schedule for the day, you should think about the most effective time to work with your social media channels so that they yield the most positive results for your business. A “to do” list is an excellent organization tool and until you really get into the swing of managing your social media interactions, you may want to rely on that. At the end of the day, you want to be left with the feeling that you have been successful with your social media activities. It is important to set realistic goals for your business when it comes to social media. If your goals are too ambitious, you may not be able to accomplish them and you will then be in a position of potentially not accomplishing what you set out to do.
   
• Decide on the time or times when you will check Email and stick to those times. There will always be some distracting message in your in inbox. Keep your emails short. That is how they are meant to be. Use the phone instead of email whenever possible.
   
• Know your target company or companies whether you are searching for job search or seeking business partners. Starting out, that’s one of the most important things to consider. If you’re not sure what you want to do, it will be difficult for you to communicate that to a client or another company.
   
• Weekends are a time to take a break but not entirely. Use weekends to review the previous week’s successes (and failures), which will give you the opportunity to prepare your upcoming week. The goal is to hit the ground running on Monday morning.

Conclusion

When it comes to your business, time management is critical to your success. You need to be organized, disciplined and focused on what you need to accomplish every day. If you are having a difficult time staying on track, writing a weekly schedule (or calendar) will probably help you a great deal. The more organized you are and the more diligently you manage your time, the better your results will be.

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Personal emails sent among friends and family should be treated differently than professional email correspondence. Understanding the audience you’re communicating with will determine how casual you can be. Keep the reason for your email clear and concise, especially when using this medium to contact businesses and your co-workers. However, forwarding emails to show perceived productivity is never a good idea.

Don’t turn business emails into a chat. If you go back and forth with the same person twice, pick up the phone or open a chat window. Email is admissible evidence in court. Do not write anything that you would be afraid to be released to the public

From a business perspective, many of us have little or no experience as authors or writers. Those who write well are often pressed for time and tend to exclude information from the email, enabling them to quickly proceed to the next task. As a result, emails are often sent that exhibit poor use of grammar or punctuation; incorrect spelling; and incomplete, outdated, or conflicting information. There’s an expectation that emails are read, understood and action is taken based on the information contained in the email.

Emails are legal documents. An unedited email is not only a reflection of your professionalism, it can also be used against you in court. For example, if you were turning down a proposal and instead of saying you will not be accepting it, you said you will be accepting it (forgetting the not) — you could be held accountable. Everything that comes out of your computer is something that can come back to haunt you if you don’t take care and attention to really mean what you say and say what you mean.

Some of these etiquette suggestions might seem obvious. With apologies to The Golden Rule, “email others as you’d like to be emailed.”

These are some guidelines. Not all need to be followed for every audience, as the person emailing you can determine which rule fits best.

• Return emails within the same timeframe you return phone calls. This may not always be realistic but people want to know you’ve received their correspondence.
   
• Include the action you require of the recipient in the email subject line. For example, “Response required or FYI only”
   
• Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. Use capital letters sparingly, if at all, because “tone” can’t be detected in an email.
   
• Use an appropriate font and point size.
   
• Write in a positive tone. Avoid negative words and blaming statements as much as possible.
   
• When sending an attachment, mention what’s being attached and make sure it’s sent. If you realize you forgot to send it, re-send with an apology
   
• Deliver the news upfront, whether in a subject line or within the first sentence, if possible. Very few people have time to read stories.
   
• Think about what you’re writing before you hit the ”send” button. Read your message twice and see if the email makes sense. Calm down before responding to a message that offends you.
   
• As much as possible, avoid “reply all” when emailing.
   
• Do not send huge attachments with emails. It’s better to upload on a shared network resource and send people a link. That way, messages don’t get stuck or clog up business systems.
   
• Make sure the proper recipients are on the email and make sure you get the names right (don’t write Keith when you mean Kenneth).
   
• If things become heated, misunderstandings will probably occur. There are times that a phone call may be needed to smooth things over.

Everyone has received an email that has angered them. Write your responses and save them as drafts. Let some time go by and open the message again and read it carefully and edit it. This does two things. You get to vent, even if it is only to yourself. By sending out a revised and calmer email, things are kept on a professional and constructive level.

It’s important to respect everyone’s time. Never send an email that you wouldn’t expect your entire professional and personal network to see. Just because you think something’s important, doesn’t necessarily mean that your email has the same sense of urgency for the person you’re emailing.

It’s also important to not include text messaging emoticons and phrases like “LOL” as they can make your message too personal. You never know who will see the email that you send.

Conclusion

Emails continue to be an extremely important means of communication and it is very important that they are written appropriately, error-free, and in a professional manner. How and what you communicate are both extremely important when it comes to communicating with your professional connections. Common professional courtesy and etiquette will never go out of style.

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