I get about 20,000+ emails per year at work. That’s about 125 per day. Often there are at least 20 when I open my inbox every few hours.
There are two ways to approach this kind of volume, tactical and strategic.
The tactical way means opening each one starting with the oldest and replying to them one at a time until you get through them all. This often means you are giving an irrelevant reply to a string of emails that has moved far beyond the first one, making you look clueless or just plain late to the party with nothing to offer. You also waste time responding to low priority ones while the important ones wait for you to get to them.
The strategic way means opening and reading all new emails before responding to any. This way you are up to speed on the latest responses and can prioritize which ones to respond to first and which can wait, maximizing your efficiency and effectiveness.
It is the difference between playing checkers...and playing chess.
