Work productivity, time management, organization, tools and tips

For some people, a lot of e-mail is repetitive and routine.  It's about regularly scheduled meetings, product information, company services, process descriptions, etc.  You'll be able to get through those emails faster if you keep a library of stock answers you can paste in.  It's like having your own custom FAQ.

The next time you type in text that you've used before and know you'll use again, save it for later.  One way to do this is by sending yourself the text and using the subject line to describe it so you'll recognize it later.  Then file that email into a folder devoted to your FAQ.  When you pop this text into an e-mail, you can always customize it further by changing names and dates. 

Using your FAQ can be your first response to many requests.  Sometimes that's all that's needed.  Just as with a FAQ, those who are interested in further information will write back and ask for it.  Don't waste time writing replies from scratch until you know it's necessary.