For the past 6 months I have been buried in emails. It’s not unusual for me to get a couple of hundred a day, and I’m not referring to spam either. I easily spend a couple of hours wading through my inbox. Each day I don’t have time to accomplish this task, is a day I get further behind. My goal over the Christmas holidays was to clear out the 1000+ emails that I had to “do something with.” I got down to 80 before my schedule picked up again… I’m now back up over 200.
It’s a constant battle but one I prefer to wage personally because it is the way I stay informed. As they come in, I triage the messages by deadline, handle the “Now” emails right away and leave the non-deadline emails for later. Sometimes MUCH later. Like Christmas. HA!
So when @crutcherk‘s link Email Etiquette for the Super-Busy appeared in my twitter stream yesterday, I clicked on it like white on rice.
The list is full of great advice, and for those of you who do not have super-busy inboxes, following some of this advice would help those of us who do. Read the list here: Email Etiquette for the Super Busy.
There is only one point I am not in agreement with: #8 “Don’t Send Thanks Emails.” Email is so unreliable, I like confirmation that a request or information sent was actually received. A thank you confirms the information got through, and it lets people know they are valued and appreciated. Both reasons I support 100%.
Is there anything you would add to that list? Disagree with?
