Too Many Emails, Not Enough Time
I think that too many emails can be a waste of time. I work with some great motivating individuals. However, they send too many emails. I think that not everything needs to be said when thought of and emails can sometimes be a avenue for some to purge their thoughts. Instead taking note of thoughts, ideas and concerns to then be later discussed in the many meetings that are scheduled within the management team is a more effective use of everyones time. This is one of many reasons meetings are scheduled to discuss specific goals and topics from an agenda. When you organize yourself to hold on to the thoughts to be discussed in a scheduled appropriate setting then emails can be minimized and everyone involved can be apart of the discussion synchronously. I also think that within a department reminder emails should be designated by one person to minimize mulitple emails to the same individuals. Your direct reports stop the communication lines when too many emails can be overwhelming and take too much time.
Larry,
Chit chat and "reply to all" are really issues for many companies.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Alot of our emails that are sent should never be sent. Its like a chit-chat avenue. We need more that are communicating important information that we need ahead of time.
Carolina,
Good points. We have the same challenge when we record advising in our student information system.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I feel the same way about getting way too many emails. I think the reason why we constantly get emails is because it is a formal form of communication. With that being said those emails are there forever so we need to make sure we are staying professional.
Hello Jeffrey,
Yes, we also have this issue. I am constantly deleting distribution groups when replying to all. It goes hand in hand with my original response to too many emails. The inbox is then bottlenecked with information and can be overwhelming for some. I feel that emails can be a great way to communicate but if abused can have the opposite effect. Individuals will not read their emails because their perception is that it is a lot of wasted time reading information that does not pertain to them.
Leigh,
Our school has an issue with "reply to all." Folks seem to believe everyone needs to know everything. How about your school?
Jeffrey Schillinger
