Email is the one mode of communication that just won’t seem to go away. Despite a plethora of newer communication tools, including Slack, instant messaging, Snapchat, and social media, we remain heavily dependent on email. Reducing and managing email is the focus of this week’s #BE30DayChallenge to secure your digital life.
Here are some numbers from Ving, a communications engagement platform creator:
- Email is the preferred method of commercial communication by 74% of all online adults.
- 60% of work email accounts get checked one or more times a day.
- A typical corporate user sends and receives about 110 messages daily.
- We send an estimated 294 billion emails every day.
- Eight million emails are sent every second.
- The average number of corporate spam emails is 13 per day.
As anyone with a work email account knows, email can spiral out of control fairly quickly without routine maintenance of one’s inbox. Even worse, email is a primary means used by hackers to commit fraud and identity theft. It’s also a vector for spreading malware. That’s why it is so important to gain control of your email.
So, in the second week of the #BE30DayChallenge for securing your digital life, here are some ways you can better manage your email.
1. Get Rid of the Junk
This means newsletters, email blasts, and advertisements that are frequently sent to you, which can clutter up your inbox quickly. Arrange your inbox based on sender and get rid of these extraneous emails.
2. Set a Cut-off Date
Do you really think you are going to answer that email from two years ago? Arrange your inbox by date and then mass-delete messages received before a specific date; this could be any messages older than six months or a year.
3. Organize Your Inbox
There are a number of apps that will automatically categorize your incoming email into specific folders. One great app is Organizer; it places messages in folders marked “Newsletters,†“Receipts,†“Social Networking,†and more. It’s a great way to separate daily email blasts from more important messages. The app works with AOL, Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, and Yahoo.
4. Check to Ensure That Your Email Hasn’t Already Been Compromised
A great resource to do so is the website “have i been pwned?” Just enter your email address, click “pwned,” and the site will search the Internet to find if your email may have been put at risk, due to an online account having been compromised or “pwned” in a data breach. If your email comes up as having been compromised, you will want to change the password or perhaps use another email address for sensitive Internet activity, such as banking.
5. Transition More of Your Communications Off of Email
For example, if you have a core group of co-workers that you email constantly throughout the day, consider using an intra-office messaging system, such as Slack, instead of email. Save email for external communications.
Do you have 1000s of emails in your Inbox? Send us a screenshot of the email count! Also, we want to see screenshots of suspicious emails, and your favorite tools, apps, or plug-ins to control email. Tweet to @blackenterprise @samaralynn #BE30DayChallengeEMailDetox
Want more tips on how to secure your tech devices? Read this full #30DayChallenge series at the links below:
Inaugural post:Â Secure Your Digital Life
Week 1: Lock Down Your Social Media
Week 2: Clean Up Email Accounts