Waisted E-Mails
The thing I hate the most is having to deal with E-Mails that have no need ever being written to begin with. We have employees that send out E-Mails to everyone and their dogs and the E-Mail only needs to be sent to one person. By the time you open it out and figure out what it is about, you have waisted a tremendous amount of time and energy. I been thinking about ways to combat this without stepping on toes. Any suggestions?
Kim,
I tend to mail groups using the blind copy to lessen the impact of "reply to all."
Jeffrey Schillinger
I agree, sometimes I wish "reply all" was never created. I don't need an email acknowledging my email either. I just try to email information that is critical and needs to be in a written format....don't use it for "insignificant converation". In addition, I only copy those who need the information, this seems to help a little and recuces my responses. I think most companies could benfit from some sort of "Email etiquette" classes.
Trina,
Way too many emails is a pretty common complaint. The biggest problem I see is the fact that so many people hit "Reply to All" on nearly every email. Scanning the subject header will help a little. Only looking at email a few times per day will help to at least allow you to get through the unnecessary ones more quickly with a singular focus.
Jeffrey Schillinger
So many are being sent for no reason. I sometimes but the email in the subject header to save time for others.
I have found scanning my e-mails helps. I can almost always determine the "Urgent" emails over the rest by reviewing the senders.
Anne Armistead
We struggle with the department CC. Like the others stated, many times the email gets sent to someone who does not even need the information. I have tried to make sure I only include the people that need the information. I like the suggestion of BCC - I'm going to start using that today! Thank you for the tip
I agree. In the mornings when I get to work, I have at 10 very detailed emails that are pertinent to what I need to get down through out the day. What I hate the most is to open one of those "chain" emails which require the reader to send it to a certain amount of readers and if it isn't done the reader is going to have bad luck. I hate this; even though I don't believe it, the email somewhat intimidates me to send the email. I wish this type of email would get banned from being sent in the workplace.
Angela
Dan,
Great point. Some folks use email to avoid face-to-face conversations. It is often better to just pick up the phone.
Jeffrey Schillinger
The more email you send, the more you will receive in return; sending email encourages other people to reply. Before you email someone, think about whether you could use another method. Sometimes a quick IM conversation or phone call can quickly resolve an issue and reduce the amount of email going back and forth discussing an issue.
I would speak to the organization's leader and determine if a new policy could be put into place on not using work computers for personal pleasure. Be sure that you have enough data to support and prove to your boss that the new policy decision is a big time saver.
Daniel,
Many experts believe setting aside time for email is a key to managing it. Too many folks feel compelled to stop what they are doing and responnd immediately.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I have it helps to keep several folders that I can "file" the emails into quickly and organize the "Priority" at the same time.
I can then check the emails which are more pressing as I get extra time during the day.
I usually scan the emails and delete ones that are not directed to me, I read and then delete the bulk of the rest and I set aside some time to reply to the rest.
I find it is just like openig hard mail, either open it by the trash can, and either delete, read and delete or reply do not just leave it to come back because then yuor inbox can steadliy become insermouuntable.
Dan ,
I doubt there is an effective way to prevent a glut of emails we do not need. The best thing we can do is to set aside times to go through them and not to let them slow us down during productive days.
Jeffrey Schillinger
sorry I don't have a good answer to that I deal with the same thing I spend alot of time deleting emails that should have not been sent to me let me know if you come up with a good solution.
I suppose that's true. I made the mistake of thinking everyone who was taking the class was an educator, and I don't think it's as common in the academic world to have such a policy. Perhaps we don't get as many emails to start with? I would find it very frustrating to know that my emails were being automatically deleted after one week.
Matt,
Many companies have a policy that sets time frames for disposing of emails.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Depending on the software you're using, it's often possible to filter incoming messages. If you find that a few individuals are responsible for much of the traffic, you could have their messages "flagged" and put into a separate folder that you treat as a lower priority (unless the message was addressed specifically to you.) You can also train the filter to look for keywords in the subject line that are important to you.
I don't know that old emails have much impact on storage limits and computer speeds, especially if they are mostly text messages. Setting software to "archive" old messages reduces their impact on inboxes, but unless your inbox is filled with image files and such it's not a big deal. The computer only indexes them anyway upon opening the software.
I'm not sure I would like an IT department deleting all emails on a weekly basis. The idea that "if it's important they'll send it again" is very counter-productive. How long will it take someone to realize they need to do that? How do you keep the sender from feeling ignored (in which they may never send the message again.) Safer would be to have the software itself set to delete read messages after 2 weeks and unread ones after a month (or something like that.)
