07/12/2011 by Christophe.

‘Dealing with emails’

Do you sometimes react negatively to an email?

Are you submerged by a large quantity of emails?

Do you find yourself searching for words or wondering how to compose a sentence when you write an email?

Emails have become a common way to keep in touch, to share information, to delegate work, to arrange meetings.. and much more. It’s easy to recall how many times we find ourselves having difficulties composing email because we want to be sure the message will be understood or have difficulties not reacting negatively to an email received.

For example, we want to explain a delicate situation to someone via an email and we end up hitting the ‘Delete’ key more often than the others, we keep changing words and can’t find the right one or on the other hand, we take personally what is written on an email, it affects our mood and we cannot concentrate anymore because we can’t stop thinking about the email.

So how can we deal with emails?

The 3 following rules will not only decrease the number of emails you receive, avoid confusion and misunderstanding but will also save you a lot of time.

1-    Taking too long – If we start taking too long to write an email (hitting the delete key or not finding the right word/sentence), it is time to pick up the phone.

2-    Responding to emails – There are 3 types of emails:

-       The ‘no response’ email: These emails are normally to share information and don’t need a response.

-       The ‘not sure’ email: These are not clear and they don’t specify if you need to respond. They are used to delegate work and you normally don’t have all the information you need to do the work. You need further details, so to avoid forward and backwards email you must pick up the phone and get all the details you need.

-       The ‘reply’ email: These are easy to spot. There is one or many questions without answers. Answer by email if you don’t fall into the rule 1.

3-    Important and/or urgent – if you have to share a very important or urgent message and you want to make sure that you are understood and that actions are going to be put in place, pick up the phone. You can ONLY use an email to recap and record your conversation.

As you begin to apply and respect these 3 rules, you will start realising that you receive less emails and that you are not spending so much time explaining, re-explaining what you want and you have better contact with the people around you. And over the next weeks and months, you will notice how you are managing your emails differently and how much more efficient you are with your work and with the people around you.

Enjoy!

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05/12/2011 by Christophe.

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