Have you tried managing your email on multiple devices? Things can get messy in an instant. We all know that email is one of the best methods of communication nowadays, especially in the business arena. It is less intrusive than a phone call, but it can contain all the details you want to say but in written form.

Email gives us the ability to communicate with people from virtually anywhere on the planet. All you need is a device and access to the internet to read your emails. With the rise of mobile devices worldwide, you no longer need a desktop or laptop to access email. In 2015, 10 billion Gigabytes of data were downloaded on mobile devices.

Today’s modern devices allow us to use our phones for almost any task; they can mimic our laptops and desktops while we are on the go. Based on research by Return Path, mobile email opens have doubled since 2013. More than 55% of emails are opened on mobile devices, and the numbers are continuously growing.

Mobile is leading the way in opening emails as we see a significant drop in desktop mail opens. When reading emails on mobile, the challenge is the smaller screens and keyboard that aren’t ideal in drafting long replies. This makes email management using multiple devices quite difficult for some people. It can get messy, which often leads to overlooked emails that go unread for days.

Ways of Effective Email Management When Using Multiple Devices

Make a Schedule

A good way to ensure that emails are not forgotten is to set a schedule for checking and replying to emails. Email alerts can sometimes get in the way of a productive task. Instead of keeping your email program open all day, you should set a time to focus on reading and replying to emails. Some people check their emails multiple times daily, while others set aside a few minutes every two hours to check emails.

Having your email synced across all devices ensures that you won’t have any unread emails. We all receive different amounts of emails, and having a schedule to check them out and reply will help achieve our email management goals. Professionals take time to read and create a well-written reply covering all the necessary points on the email.

Only a few are gifted in flawlessly composing a good email message on a 6” mobile screen. You wouldn’t want to send out poorly worded and autocorrected emails that were obviously created on a mobile device.

Use Labels

There are times when you can’t respond to an email at once since you read it on your mobile device. Maybe you don’t have access to the documents you need to attach, and you forget to respond at a later time when you have the files with you. The majority of email programs and apps for mobile let users mark their messages with labels or categories.

You can customize labels like “Reply ASAP” or “Respond by Tomorrow,” which helps you manage your email across devices. If you open an email on your phone, for example, and the file you need to attach to your desktop, you could mark it as “Reply Using Desktop.” Make it a habit to reply to your emails as soon as you receive them.

Mark as Unread

Have you ever experienced a time when your inbox was full of emails, and you wanted to ignore them all? Without the proper email management, our inboxes can become a mess. We shouldn’t let our inbox control our schedule and make us constantly reactive. The ability to open our emails using mobile sometimes leads to missed replies.

There are times when you can’t wait to open an email but can’t reply at the moment. Email notifications can get us all excited at times, especially when you are expecting an important message. If you are one of those who can’t wait until the email opening schedule, you can mark them as unread.

This is simpler than labeling and can be done with minimal effort. You can now open your email and satisfy your curiosity on any device and just mark it as unread to deal with it later. While you are out of the office, you can still be productive. You can jot down notes regarding your reply that you can refine later.

With this strategy, you can move on from all those email notifications and deal with emails at an opportune time. Your email recipients will appreciate that your replies are thorough, which means that you took the time to read their email and craft a great response.