Here are ten tips that will help you avoid becoming a victim of your own email.
1. Keep your messages short; three sentences is a good standard.
2. Use email to convey information or requests. Use live conversations to discuss ideas and solve problems.
3. Don’t hit Reply All unless the message pertains to a group discussion and everyone needs to know your response. Never hit Reply All if you are pointing out an error.
4. Don’t cc someone unless they’ve asked to be cc’d. Never cc the boss on messages to others in your organization or unit—unless you are conveying a compliment.
5. If you are cc’d on an email, do not reply; it undermines the primary recipients.
6. If you are forwarding a message for the primary purpose of forwarding an attachment, delete all extraneous information first … especially unneeded attachments.
7. If a message calls for a response, try to provide it within 24 hours. To convey that a task has been completed, a simple "Done" should suffice. It’s rarely necessary to send an email solely to say, “Thanks.”
8. Is your entire message or request conveyed in the subject line? Then end it with eom (End of Message) and leave the body of the email blank. Now your recipient doesn’t need to open the email.
9. Before you hit Send, take a moment to check: Is it addressed to the right Bob? Have you included the attachment you referenced? Are you sending it from the correct account (personal or work)? Is there anything in the language or tone you may regret?
10. Keep your mail program minimized and turn off all desktop notifications of new email—sounds, pop-ups, new message counts, etc. Then check your email when it won’t distract you from something more important.
