Email is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, but it can also be time-consuming. Here are some tips on how to cut back on your emailing:
- Set up a system for organizing your emails. If you can, try to group related emails together so that you can more easily find what you’re looking for.
- Use filters to reduce the number of emails you receive. You can set up filters to only receive messages from certain people, or from certain topics. This will help you focus on the important messages and reduce the number of spam emails that get through your filter.
- Use email reminders to keep yourself organized. Set up a reminder in your email program so that you’ll know when an important message is due. This will help you avoid forgetting about it and having to deal with a backlog later on.
- Use email snooze buttons to delay notifications until later in the day or week. This will give you more time to deal with the notification without feeling rushed or stressed out ..
According to a survey from 2005, employee interviews revealed that time wasted on email caused an enterprise with 10,000 employees to lose an estimated $152 million in wages per year.
Email clearly has its downsides. Unclear emails distract employees from important work-related tasks, cloud communication channels, and often create extra work. Avoid the pitfalls of email by following the suggestions below.
How Incoming Email Can Waste Your Time
There are many types of email messages that can waste your time. Those that:
Could be cut down from multiple messages and condensed into comprehensive one Don’t directly relate to you Do relate to you but not in a direct way, which leaves you unsure of how or if you should respond (and eats up time) Do not direct you to take some action (which is unproductive) Distract and/or encourage you to waste time on the web Aren’t suitable for the email, and make more sense through a dynamic communication channel such as a business meeting or some format that’s more suitable for the content (like an information-rich stand alone document)
How to Process Incoming Email Efficiently
In order to read and process emails efficiently, you need to focus on two things — figuring out the message of the email (or lack of) and deciding on what action to take in response.
Step 1: Figure Out the Message (Or Lack Of)
Whenever you read a new email, take as little time as possible to figure out:
Whether the speaker is addressing you directly or indirectly Whether the speaker has told you what they expect of you Whether that’s done in a clear manner Whether the overall message is relevant to you Whether the overall message seems appropriate, given the context of your relationship to the sender (or lack of, if they are trying to initiate a business relationship for instance)
This will help you ascertain what the message of the email is, and how you want to respond. That is, if you intend to respond in the first place.
It’s especially important to note if the speaker is doing one or more things that can lure you into wasting precious time, such as:
Being unclear about what they are trying to say Using language in a confusing or euphemistic manner to avoid speaking in concrete terms (e. g. “I think we need to have a heart to heart at some point” versus “Can you call me this week so we can talk on the phone about something important?”) Rambling or going off topic Including information that is none of your business, inappropriate, offensive, or incoherent Cc or bcc’ing you on messages that aren’t relevant to you Repeating the same message through various emails, or repeating what’s already been covered in previous communications other than email Writing about something that you have already discussed and resolved — in a forgetful or careless manner
In these types of situations, be especially careful to respond in an effective way that minimizes how much time you spend on the communication. Because it’s easy to let the above ambiguous email scenarios drain your time.
Step 2: Decide on What Action to Take
After you know what the message is about, figure out the most productive way to respond. Here are some typical responses:
Shifting the conversation to a better communication medium such as telephone and conference calls Responding to a recurring question asked by multiple people — not through email — but through a more information-rich medium that can be shared, such as a Google Doc Not responding to messages that don’t make it clear what the speaker expects from you (even if it feels a bit impolite) Addressing unclear messages with direct and brief concrete questions, such as, “When you would like to have the report completed by?” or “How would you like me to contribute to this project?” Picking up the phone and calling the person anytime drama or communication breakdown starts to occur — drawing it out through email will only take longer and may intensify the conflict
Step 3: Get Back on Task
Most importantly, after you respond to an email (which may consist of not responding and instead deleting the message), you need to get back on task. Move on to the next email waiting in your inbox, or switch gears and get back to actually doing work rather than responding to other people’s requests.
How Sending Email Can Waste Your Time
Additionally, there are many types of email message you send that can waste your time. Those that:
How to Send Email Efficiently
In order to write emails that don’t waste your time in the long run (not to mention your recipient’s time), you need to focus on five things: communicating a clear message, requesting your recipient take actionable steps, using good structure, editing before you hit send, and following up effectively.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Message
Before you even draft an email, you need to get crystal clear on the message. Determine:
What you want to communicate Why you want to communicate it What action you want your recipient to take How you can best persuade them to take such action
Here are some common reasons to send email:
To remind someone of a deadline To give someone written instructions on a task To ask a quick question that can be answered adequately through writing To answer a quick question that can be answered adequately through writing To pass along time-sensitive information To offer available dates for scheduling a meeting To follow up after a meeting and show appreciation
In all of these examples, except for the last one, you want your recipient to take some action (even if that’s just replying to you).
Sometimes the action doesn’t seem like an action. Maybe you want to:
Pass along a tip for your co-worker Let your friends know you landed safely at your travel destination Give a brief update on how you are doing at your new destination and how you can be reached in the next several weeks
In each of these situations, you’re not telling your recipient to take a certain action. However, it is implied that they are not expected to take any action, as long as you give the email proper closure, or at least by signing your name. They understand that the communication can easily end with your email; that they don’t need to respond.
Step 2: Request Your Recipient Take Actionable Steps
To write effective emails that save you time, you need to make them actionable. And you need to make sure that your recipient is clear on what action is expected of them.
If you’re not aiming for this, but are trying to spell out your life story or explain why you’re holding out for the next iPhone model instead of getting the latest one, you can forget about saving time because pen pal writing takes a lot of thought and time.
Focus on the following when making email actionable:
Setting deadlines Outlining contingency plans Offering potential options for the next course of action (e. g. times you are available for an in-person meeting, locations you’re available to meet at) Providing an opinion when asked for one Making a request that’s suitable for writing and is actually more convenient that using another mode of communication Providing a set of directions for a task that your recipient has agreed to carry out
Be proactive and assertive when outlining actionable steps. Avoid asking open-ended questions unless there’s no other option. Because open-ended questions are the opposite of actionable content.
Here are some examples:
Instead of asking your recipient to give you their schedule (and wasting an email in the process) — start out by sending them your available meeting times. Instead of asking your recipient what they think about a certain business decision, outline the potential decision and request construct feedback; that way they won’t have to come up with something on their own and will instead have something to work with
You keep email actionable by providing clear instructions to the reader and keeping the content actionable rather than open-ended.
Most importantly, you need to make sure that whatever action you expect from your reader is clearly communicated. Don’t assume they know that you want to set up a meeting this week just you offer your available times. Don’t assume they know what job task your set of instructions applies to. State it out explicitly and kindly let them know what you want them to do.
Step 3: Create Good Structure
One you have your message clearly defined and you’ve made it actionable, it’s time to organize it such a way to convey that clarity and your actionable requests.
Paragraphs: A general rule to follow is keeping paragraphs under five sentences. It’s not only difficult to focus on long paragraphs while web reading, but clunky paragraphs give the recipient opportunity to lose focus and perhaps miss out on the most important points. This then leads to sloppy or redundant responses, which clouds the communication channel.
Sentences: Use the active voice when writing sentences. Keep sentences short and to the point. Avoid going off on tangents or unnecessarily explaining your reasoning or feelings about things. Instead, stick to the facts and what action you request that your recipient take.
Words: Try not to use big words or slang, unless you know your audience will understand them. Avoid jokes and cultural references that might be misunderstood, because anything that can be easily misinterpreted is a potential barrier to effective communication.
Avoid extra words and qualifying phrases. “Given the current situation in which this is currently happening, I think that it might be wise to…” is a qualifying statement that not only wastes words and time, but distracts from the real message. Instead, just state your recommendation without having to qualify it.
Another example: “I was wondering if I could ask you…” Cut this phrase out and simply ask the question. It will also increase your confidence, because you won’t subconsciously seek permission to communicate proactively.
Punctuation: Keep punctuation simple. Qualifying words and phrases are only efficient when used to establish courtesy upon initiating communication with someone you’d like to have a business or personal relationship with. In such cases, you don’t necessarily want to be to forthcoming, but use some polite phrases to show respect for their time.
Minimize commas use — this naturally helps you keep sentences short. Avoid lazy text-inspired speak, with overuse of dot-dot-dot’s and consecutive commas. Instead, punctuate your sentences with proper English and utilize contractions when it makes sense, because they make reading flow better.
Additionally, consider punctuating lists with bullet-points, and using a line of dashes to break up major sections (which may include one or more paragraphs).
Bullet-points and section breaks enhance web readability, as well as help you organize your message more clearly.
Step 4: Edit Before Sending
Before you send an email, take 1-2 minutes to read it out loud. This will help you catch mistakes or notice awkward parts that you wouldn’t normally say in-person. Strip away those extra words and simplify punctuation. Bullet out lists and cut down on your paragraphs.
When you can answer the following questions with a “yes,” then you’re ready to hit “send”:
Is the message clear? Are expectations actionable and clearly stated? Will my recipient be able to successfully receive my message? Success means that they know what response is expected of them. If the roles were reversed, would I be able to successfully receive this message?
Step 5: Follow Up Effectively
Additionally, be proactive in following up with your emails. If someone doesn’t respond to a direct request, don’t waste time wondering what happened. Instead, send a polite but direct follow-up email to check in with them. Apply the principles listed above. And don’t waste too much time trying to get a response; if the recipient isn’t communicating with you, know when to move on or approach them in-person instead.
Use Email to Save Time
Email can save you a lot of time if you know how to use it efficiently. And this goes for both sending and receiving messages.
Email is best used to deliver actionable messages that are adequately communicated via writing. If you take advantage of the benefits of email and avoid the many time-wasting pitfalls, it serves as powerful tool.
