Manage Your E-mail

Unmanaged, it can be more a hindrance than help

Leslie Bendaly, author of Winner Instinct (HarperCollins, 1999,) says that she has met people who sort through more than one hundred e-mails daily. A poll of 26 top executives, conducted by Spencer Stuart's Chicago office, revealed that 76 percent of them spent at least one hour each day reading and responding to e-mail, with 12 percent spending more than three hours per day. (Management Review, September, 1999.) E-mail, in spite of its timesaving qualities, can become a timewaster itself if not managed properly.

Don't interrupt yourself by continually checking your e-mail throughout the day. Have specific mail times such as first thing in the morning and again after lunch. Checking messages at the end of the day is probably not a good idea since there's no time to take action. And you'll catch the mail in the morning anyway. Never check e-mail until you have time to deal with it. Dispense with messages one at a time. Delete, file, respond or forward them. If they represent long-term tasks, transfer the needed information to your planner and delete the messages. You might want to expand the window to full size when reading your mail.

When an incoming e-mail merits a thank you, say nothing else. Don't add unnecessary comments that might encourage another reply in return. There is too much e-mail that simply serves to thank others for thanking them. "You're welcome" is usually unnecessary. Don't feel compelled to get in the last word.

Don't clutter your electronic files with non-essential correspondence. Delete most e-mail and only file those that you have to reference in the future. Print as few as possible and don't keep both printed and electronic versions. According to a survey conducted by Dianna Booher, of all the documents that are printed, copied and distributed by North American business every day, 75 to 80 percent are never referred to again. E-mail loses much of its advantage if it is printed. Yet, according to an article in the Stouffville Tribune (Just Delete the Frustrations of E-Mail, by Arthur Black,) 60 percent of all e-mail is still copied onto paper. Resist the urge to print your e-mail. Answer it, file it, or delete it. But don't keep it unless absolutely necessary.

When sending e-mail, respect other people's time as well. Before you send that message to your entire mailing list, ask yourself a question. Would you send that many copies if it were paperwork? Send it only to those who need it or can benefit from it. Don't let the circulation list be determined by the ease of transmission.

Use a relevant header to make it easy to file. If you're replying to a message and changing the topic, take a few seconds to change the header to correspond with the new topic. Make sure the header grabs the reader's attention and immediately identifies the topic. The only way some people can cope with the overload of e-mails is to delete most unsolicited messages unread. They make this decision based on the header. A vague title such as "Opportunity" or "Thought you might be interested" could easily be deleted accidentally. If the receiver knows you, you might want to include your name in the header. And if you're replying to their e-mail, say so.

Although e-mail is sometimes viewed as a casual, conversational form of communication, it is rapidly becoming the accepted form of business communication as well. As such it warrants similar guidelines to that of hardcopy correspondence. Keep your message brief and indicate any action you want the reader to take. Limit each message to one topic. Use the Spell Checker feature; careless typing and sloppy grammar will reflect on both you and your company. Assume that all your e-mail will be saved and viewed by others. Formality is even more important when corresponding to people in other countries who may not be accustomed to the more casual approach to communication.

There are dozens of symbols called emoticons representing the various emotions such as happiness, sadness etc., and even more abbreviations that people seem to be using, but I don't recommend either. Everyone is not familiar with them. Personally, I get annoyed when I encounter such hieroglyphics as LOL, IMHO, IMHO or OTOH. It may save the writer a few seconds, but I waste my time trying to figure out what the gobbledygook means. We survived quite nicely without smiles, frowns and laughter symbols plastered in our written letters. Why the necessity now?

Walter H. Block and Jeff Senne, in heir book, CyberPower for Business (Book-mart Press, 1996, point out that computer screens are shorter than sheets of paper, so the most important information should be in the header and first paragraph or two of the message, where it is in full view. They say you can figure on about twenty lines of message.

A signature file, which could include your name, company, telephone number, fax number, website address and one-line description of your business can be added automatically with most e-mail programs. It's unobtrusive at the end of the message, helpful to the reader and it compensates for the lack of a letterhead.

E-mail is one of the greatest timesaving marvels of the century. But like most things,
if misused it can be as much a hindrance as help. Use it, but don't abuse it. 

This article is provided by LTC