It’s no mystery: Email can be a major time suck, and is probably the #1 reason people “do less with more.” The more email they manage, the less they actually get done.
Here are a few tricks you can use to work a little email magic and invert that equation from “do less with more” to “do more with less.”
1. Stop responding unless you have to. How many replies to email do you send that say “Thank you!” or “Got it.” just to show you received the message? Breaker, breaker, email isn’t CB radio, over. You don’t have to prove the message was received unless there’s a specific request to respond. Read it and let it ride.
2. Respond more slowly on group emails. There’s no first prize for being the first to respond to a group email message. Often you’ll find that issues get resolved before you have to respond, or someone will cover your concerns for you. If you’re expected to participate, within 24 hours is professional and reasonable.
3. Get on the phone. Sometimes a conversation is more expedient than an email chain. This is especially true if you think your initial email message will be long and require your recipients undivided attention, or you think tone may be lost in email.
