I just read an article about reducing email. These were the main points.
1. Only check email twice a day
2. Don’t read email first thing in the morning
3. Sometimes just zero out all your emails (yup, erase them all…tough one for me)
4. Be specific, esp in making appointments to reduce unnecessary chatter. So, instead
of writing “We should meet”, write “Let’s meet…is next wednesday at 9AM, or thursday
at 4PM better for you?”
5. Send fewer emails. That way people won’t respond to you as often.
We’ve started implementing these philosophies at JordanTeam and Funutation and life has become
much easier. When I’m requested to teach a Linux class overseas I ask for a meeting with the
customer over the phone, and give specific times of when I’m available.
Or at Funutation I list messages as “FYI – No response required”. Only one of my staffers insists
on writing back “Got it!”
Hey, maybe one day we’ll add an email ettiquette class to our offerings.