7 smart shortcuts to use in your work email

Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Emails can be a serious time sink.

As Reuters reported, one 2015 survey found that US workers spend "6.3 hours a day checking emails, with 3.2 hours devoted to work emails and 3.1 hours to personal messages."

If you want to save some time and energy, it's important to figure out how to optimize your email experience.

Here are some shortcuts that can seriously cut down on the time you spend in your inbox:

Watch your email headers

"Be clear and concise with your email heading," Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of "The Humor Advantage" told Business Insider.

"Your email subject line should make it clear why you are writing and make it easy for the receiver to file and later retrieve the email as needed. And don't forget to change the email heading as needed. If you are engaging in a lengthy back and forth over several days then change the subject line to reflect the new direction the conversation has taken to avoid confusion at a later date."

Throw in a clear call to action

"What is it you want the person to do with your email — are you simply letting them know something, do you need an answer to a question by a certain date, or is there a specific action the receiver needs to follow up on?" Kerr asked. "Always end your email with a summary call to action."

All in all, it's best to keep your emails concise.

"Use plenty of white space and whenever possible bullet points to summarize your main points or calls to action," Kerr said. "This will make your emails easier to read, easier to follow, and improve the likelihood of getting a clear response back."

Include a signature

Kerr said that a signature file at the bottom of your email will make it far easier for people to connect with you "without having to hunt down your contact information."

In order to create your own automatic signatures, head to your Gmail's "settings." You'll land right in the "general tab." Just scroll down till you hit the"signature" section, and then type your own into the box. That signature will be added to the end of every one of your emails, from there on out.