There was a study out last week that found 17% of the time you spend reading work emails is wasted, because of things like spam, and sending emails when you should just talk on the phone instead.
Now here are four tips to make sure YOU’RE not the one wasting people’s time . . .
1. Be careful about who you CC. And don’t just hit “Reply All” because it’s easier. Only include the people who actually NEED to see your email.
2. Try to keep your emails under two paragraphs. Sometimes you can’t, but the point is it’s hard to digest too much at one time. And most emails don’t need to be longer than that.
3. If you forward a long email chain to someone, summarize what it’s about at the top. That way they know why you’re sending it to them, and they don’t have to figure it out while they read through it.
4. Don’t respond to every email right away. Sometimes if you wait a little while, things get resolved on their own. And you save time by not having a long discussion about it.
Obviously it’s different if it’s urgent though. And also don’t leave your boss hanging all day if they email you about something.
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