But even if you hate spam, are tired of answering the same questions over and over again and, not least, of another round of stupid reply-all emails, you insist that you must read and reply to all emails self.

But now think if it is not necessary. Imagine if you could effectively delegate your inbox so that you still get the important personal messages and business opportunities, but get rid of the unproductive part.

Here's your guide to effectively delegating your inbox.

We are trapped in the inbox for a third of our work day

Inbox management is something that most people struggle with. Weekday. It sometimes seems like it just pours in with messages, important and unimportant, in a big pear gruel. If you also feel this way, then you might not be completely wrong.

Actually shows one McKinsey Report from 2013 that the average worker spends 28 % of his working day on e-mail. 28 percent!. It is something that can be felt. The same report even estimates that it will only get worse.

If almost a third of your working day could be made more efficient, imagine what you could achieve.
LederInsigt has looked at boats Chris C. Ducker and Alexandra Samuel in the Harvard Business Review that has some helpful tips on how to best delegate your inbox with the help of an assistant.
Their advice is largely about how to make it work with a virtual assistant, but can also be used if you have or are considering getting a traditional assistant.

Before you get started

There are several things you need to decide on before jumping into it. In any case, if you we ensure you a greater chance of success. Here are four things to start with:

• Decide needs
• Make (possibly together with your assistant) some rules for how the inbox should be managed.
• Prepare response templates
• Customize as needed.

Decide needs

Full time or part time? How many hours your assistant has to spend handling your e-mail obviously depends on how many e-mails you receive and how complicated it is/how long it takes to answer your messages. Samuel suggests that you sit down and look at how much time you spend on e-mail each week and then estimate how long it should take your assistant once he/she has been brought in, to complete the task.

Inbox rules

It is a good idea that you have considered how you would like your inbox to be managed. Here are four things to consider:

• When should your assistant check your inbox? Is it best in the morning or later in the day. Maybe it needs to be emptied several times? Chris Ducker says his assistant goes through his inbox first thing in the morning so his emails are on track when his day starts.
• Maximum response time. Also, make sure your assistant knows how quickly you expect him/her to respond to emails. Is it within an hour or is 48 hours ok?
• Who answers? It's also worth considering which emails you want to answer and which your assistant can handle for you. Also, consider how your assistant should respond to your requests: Should he/she sign with your name or do you prefer that he/she sign with his/her own name, on your behalf?
• If…then scenarios. Go through your inbox and identify some categories that your emails typically fall into. Chris Ducker receives e.g. frequently asked questions and inquiries about participation in podcasts and guest blogs. For each of these categories, he lays down some rules for how his assistant should handle them. Inquiries about guest blogs will e.g. always a friendly refusal. While Ducker always answers invitations to present at conferences himself.

Answer templates

The rejections Ducker's assistant sends out are based on some prepared standard answers. In this way, he streamlines his assistant's work and at the same time is sure that the tone of all e-mails fits his style.