How do I get really good at emails
October 4, 2023 9:23 AM Subscribe
You're a person with a busy job who's in meetings all day but you still keep up with your emails. Maybe you're one of those rare types who is able to respond to any email within minutes despite your busy schedule. What do you do? How do you do it?
Looking for best practices and practical advice / experiences in terms of dealing with email in a timely and effective manner. I need to get better and reading and responding to it.
Not super interested in advise like 'don't read emails, if someone needs to get in touch with you they will', my workplace is quite email oriented and I just need to get better at it.
Looking for best practices and practical advice / experiences in terms of dealing with email in a timely and effective manner. I need to get better and reading and responding to it.
Not super interested in advise like 'don't read emails, if someone needs to get in touch with you they will', my workplace is quite email oriented and I just need to get better at it.
Schedule meeting times with buffers and try to get this practice standardized with your internal team. For example, 45 minute meetings instead of 1 hour, or 20 minutes instead of 30.
If you can't do that, the only way to do it I've found is to be half present in any meeting I'm not facilitating (big sigh).
I also rely on canned answer templates. Very easy to set up in Gmail; Microsoft for whatever reason has made it more complicated these days in Outlook than it used to be, but it is still worthwhile to set them up.
posted by veery at 9:30 AM on October 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
If you can't do that, the only way to do it I've found is to be half present in any meeting I'm not facilitating (big sigh).
I also rely on canned answer templates. Very easy to set up in Gmail; Microsoft for whatever reason has made it more complicated these days in Outlook than it used to be, but it is still worthwhile to set them up.
posted by veery at 9:30 AM on October 4, 2023 [3 favorites]
Only way to do it is to do it. By which so mean I just answer any email that will take less than 5 minutes as soon as I read it. There's a lot of things that I can just answer or quickly look up. If something is going to take me more time to answer, like I need to research it I flag it to do later and move on.
posted by MadMadam at 9:30 AM on October 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by MadMadam at 9:30 AM on October 4, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'm great at (work) emails. Here is my protip: just fucking respond to it. Like just do it. Stop overthinking it.
An email doesn't have to be:
-perfect
-full of complete thoughts
-long
-smart
So many times I'm on calls with coworkers/boss where they're trying to craft the best response to something and I'm just like... it's really sweet how much you care but most people are barely literate and dgaf. Just send anything. A half assed response now is better than one that comes days later than the emailer needed. Be imperfect!!!
Most people emailing you aren't looking for anything deep.
They're either wanting you to solve a problem for them--quick immediate email response: Hey Bob sorry to hear that, what have you tried so far?
Or they're looking for info--quick email response: Hey Bob, target for 2023 is $145k. Let me know if you need any reporting or an in depth dive and we can get into it as needed.
Or they want to be heard--quick email response: Hey Bob, thanks for letting me know. Let me circulate this on my end with the team.
Or they need your approval/decision for something, in which case for god sake please reply to them asap. You either have the information you need to make the call or you don't, so either make the call now, or tell them what you're missing before you can make that call. Don't be the bottleneck through which all progress stops!
posted by phunniemee at 9:38 AM on October 4, 2023 [44 favorites]
An email doesn't have to be:
-perfect
-full of complete thoughts
-long
-smart
So many times I'm on calls with coworkers/boss where they're trying to craft the best response to something and I'm just like... it's really sweet how much you care but most people are barely literate and dgaf. Just send anything. A half assed response now is better than one that comes days later than the emailer needed. Be imperfect!!!
Most people emailing you aren't looking for anything deep.
They're either wanting you to solve a problem for them--quick immediate email response: Hey Bob sorry to hear that, what have you tried so far?
Or they're looking for info--quick email response: Hey Bob, target for 2023 is $145k. Let me know if you need any reporting or an in depth dive and we can get into it as needed.
Or they want to be heard--quick email response: Hey Bob, thanks for letting me know. Let me circulate this on my end with the team.
Or they need your approval/decision for something, in which case for god sake please reply to them asap. You either have the information you need to make the call or you don't, so either make the call now, or tell them what you're missing before you can make that call. Don't be the bottleneck through which all progress stops!
posted by phunniemee at 9:38 AM on October 4, 2023 [44 favorites]
Block out some time on your calendar - actually schedule a meeting with yourself and block your calendar - to handle email. Once per day or once per hour, whatever you need and can get away with. If the expectation at your job is that people who are in meetings all day can still respond to emails within minutes, I imagine that everyone there is distracted and disconnected from both the meeting and the email.
Also seconding the practices of meeting times with buffers, and templated responses.
Following the link that shebookish posted, these practices aren't specific to Outlook: Tame your inbox with the four D's (delete, do, delegate, defer).
posted by expialidocious at 9:42 AM on October 4, 2023
Also seconding the practices of meeting times with buffers, and templated responses.
Following the link that shebookish posted, these practices aren't specific to Outlook: Tame your inbox with the four D's (delete, do, delegate, defer).
posted by expialidocious at 9:42 AM on October 4, 2023
I think the thing is that I like emailing. I'm a quick reader and writer too. That makes it way easier for me. But the way I do it is:
- I start my day with checking and answering emails.
- I do not read my email during meetings or when I need to be doing something else like talking to a patient or documenting
- Outside of the above scenario though, I answer emails immediately
- If the email requires some kind of action on my part, I immediately add that action to one of my to-do lists or place on my calendar for the date when I need to do the action item, and include that information in my email response: ("OK great we can meet for the case conference on Thursday at 2, I've just sent you a calendar invite with a zoom link for that time. See you then!" or "I can follow up directly with Joe, I'll let you know the outcome of that by Friday."
- If the email requires a lengthy response or complex actions, I just respond briefly with my follow up plan: ("Thanks for raising this issue. I'll have to reach out to the other team and get back to you once we have a shared plan and we learn if we are able to purchase that item for the patient" or whatever)
- Bonus: I tend to start my emails by thanking the person for whatever important thing they want to communicate and often conclude with something appreciative as well. I keep these authentic and brief. Somehow positive vibes makes emailing less bad and more good for me.
posted by latkes at 10:12 AM on October 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
- I start my day with checking and answering emails.
- I do not read my email during meetings or when I need to be doing something else like talking to a patient or documenting
- Outside of the above scenario though, I answer emails immediately
- If the email requires some kind of action on my part, I immediately add that action to one of my to-do lists or place on my calendar for the date when I need to do the action item, and include that information in my email response: ("OK great we can meet for the case conference on Thursday at 2, I've just sent you a calendar invite with a zoom link for that time. See you then!" or "I can follow up directly with Joe, I'll let you know the outcome of that by Friday."
- If the email requires a lengthy response or complex actions, I just respond briefly with my follow up plan: ("Thanks for raising this issue. I'll have to reach out to the other team and get back to you once we have a shared plan and we learn if we are able to purchase that item for the patient" or whatever)
- Bonus: I tend to start my emails by thanking the person for whatever important thing they want to communicate and often conclude with something appreciative as well. I keep these authentic and brief. Somehow positive vibes makes emailing less bad and more good for me.
posted by latkes at 10:12 AM on October 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
I think this might be relevant - E-mail takes longer for me when I'm worried about being misinterpreted (this is a realistic worry). People can think you're anxious or tense or trying to pressure or hurry them, or think those feelings are stronger or more permanent than they are.
Having a basis relationship helps mitigate that. It means you might not have to constantly reassure the recipient, clarify that you yourself prioritize them or their request, or that if you don't that you have solid reasonable cause for it, establish that you generally like them -- avoiding commentary on all of this means you can be briefer without causing offense.
How to do that is why I'm reading a book on connection right now :)
posted by amtho at 10:24 AM on October 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
Having a basis relationship helps mitigate that. It means you might not have to constantly reassure the recipient, clarify that you yourself prioritize them or their request, or that if you don't that you have solid reasonable cause for it, establish that you generally like them -- avoiding commentary on all of this means you can be briefer without causing offense.
How to do that is why I'm reading a book on connection right now :)
posted by amtho at 10:24 AM on October 4, 2023 [5 favorites]
First, I dedicate time to do emails. It's work, it needs time. Block off a half hour (or more?) on your calendar twice a day if you need to.
Second, I organize my inbox. I generally pretty quickly triage whether or not an email is something I need to follow up on. If not, it goes into a folder; if I do need to follow up on it, I either do it now, or I flag it to do soon. With this method, I keep my inbox itself at less than 10 threads at a time.
Related: I write good emails. I focus them on tasks. I try not to do brain dumps - rather, I share specific information with people, point them to it (I hate being forwarded a chain of email with the request to 'take a look' - instead, I point people directly to the info I need them to look at, to make it easier for them), and make my request clear. That way, the overall signal-to-noise ratio is higher.
Lastly: If things get chatty, it's time to pick up the phone or schedule a meeting.
posted by entropone at 10:49 AM on October 4, 2023
Second, I organize my inbox. I generally pretty quickly triage whether or not an email is something I need to follow up on. If not, it goes into a folder; if I do need to follow up on it, I either do it now, or I flag it to do soon. With this method, I keep my inbox itself at less than 10 threads at a time.
Related: I write good emails. I focus them on tasks. I try not to do brain dumps - rather, I share specific information with people, point them to it (I hate being forwarded a chain of email with the request to 'take a look' - instead, I point people directly to the info I need them to look at, to make it easier for them), and make my request clear. That way, the overall signal-to-noise ratio is higher.
Lastly: If things get chatty, it's time to pick up the phone or schedule a meeting.
posted by entropone at 10:49 AM on October 4, 2023
Respond to the email right away. If you can't, mark it as unread, get back to it later. That's all I got.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:50 AM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:50 AM on October 4, 2023 [2 favorites]
I find emails faster on my laptop than my phone bc I type better with all fingers, plus laptop makes linking and formatting better. So I try not to open emails til I'm on my laptop and can bang them out faster.
There's also a demographic component to email that is worth taking into account. People demand more emotional labour of people who are lower in the work hierarchy, as well as from all women, BIPOC, or anyone else from a historically-excluded group. Recipients expect more detail, fewer typos, more warmth, more soft skills, more word-mincing, and more performance of gratitude, and THEY PENALIZE YOU if you don't do that. (Not a good fit, Sloppy, Bitchy, whatever the hell they weaponize).
So, for some of us, emails actually need to be more careful, longer, better-written, more-detailed, more-pandering, and emails are always received with a greater risk of hostility or scrutiny.
That's not fair, but that is how it is at this moment in history. So, if you're in a group that carries this extra burden, definitely don't add more weight to it by thinking it's a character flaw. Some of us are doing email with a weighted vest on!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:58 AM on October 4, 2023 [15 favorites]
There's also a demographic component to email that is worth taking into account. People demand more emotional labour of people who are lower in the work hierarchy, as well as from all women, BIPOC, or anyone else from a historically-excluded group. Recipients expect more detail, fewer typos, more warmth, more soft skills, more word-mincing, and more performance of gratitude, and THEY PENALIZE YOU if you don't do that. (Not a good fit, Sloppy, Bitchy, whatever the hell they weaponize).
So, for some of us, emails actually need to be more careful, longer, better-written, more-detailed, more-pandering, and emails are always received with a greater risk of hostility or scrutiny.
That's not fair, but that is how it is at this moment in history. So, if you're in a group that carries this extra burden, definitely don't add more weight to it by thinking it's a character flaw. Some of us are doing email with a weighted vest on!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:58 AM on October 4, 2023 [15 favorites]
I use scheduling to make sure I have time to check and respond to emails:
1. Check and respond to general inbox emails: first thing in the morning and right after lunch
2. Schedule interviews with a 15 minute buffer after them; I follow these up with an email. My office uses Calendly which lets you build those in automatically and dictate the length of that buffer.
3. Schedule one to two large blocks of time per week to deal with weekly report emails. I get a large volume of these every week and need to both log and respond to these so I need time to focus on them.
And yeah, as I've worked longer at this, the more I've gotten to a just get it done attitude when I'm in email response time. Open, read, triage or research as needed, respond, move on. I try not to worry too much about getting it perfect like 90% of the time. There are some things I have to send that need to be handled more thoughtfully, so I save those for draft, reread, maybe get a second pair of eyes on it, etc.
posted by carrioncomfort at 11:15 AM on October 4, 2023
1. Check and respond to general inbox emails: first thing in the morning and right after lunch
2. Schedule interviews with a 15 minute buffer after them; I follow these up with an email. My office uses Calendly which lets you build those in automatically and dictate the length of that buffer.
3. Schedule one to two large blocks of time per week to deal with weekly report emails. I get a large volume of these every week and need to both log and respond to these so I need time to focus on them.
And yeah, as I've worked longer at this, the more I've gotten to a just get it done attitude when I'm in email response time. Open, read, triage or research as needed, respond, move on. I try not to worry too much about getting it perfect like 90% of the time. There are some things I have to send that need to be handled more thoughtfully, so I save those for draft, reread, maybe get a second pair of eyes on it, etc.
posted by carrioncomfort at 11:15 AM on October 4, 2023
People demand more emotional labour of people who are lower in the work hierarchy, as well as from all women, BIPOC, or anyone else from a historically-excluded group. Recipients expect more detail, fewer typos, more warmth, more soft skills, more word-mincing, and more performance of gratitude, and THEY PENALIZE YOU if you don't do that. (Not a good fit, Sloppy, Bitchy, whatever the hell they weaponize).
So, for some of us, emails actually need to be more careful, longer, better-written, more-detailed, more-pandering, and emails are always received with a greater risk of hostility or scrutiny.
Well, I'm at the bottom of the work hierarchy and female and I get penalized and written up all the time--for among other things, putting too much detail in emails. That said, I have been DRILLED that I have to start out with "Dear X," and finish with a "Thank you," regardless of situation, if I have been in a long email chain, etc. Anything beyond "Dear all, this has been processed, thank you, jenfullmoon" is highly likely to be written up and critiqued. But yes, I have to write knowing I will be nitpicked and scrutinized, especially in the public email box. Whee.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:23 AM on October 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
So, for some of us, emails actually need to be more careful, longer, better-written, more-detailed, more-pandering, and emails are always received with a greater risk of hostility or scrutiny.
Well, I'm at the bottom of the work hierarchy and female and I get penalized and written up all the time--for among other things, putting too much detail in emails. That said, I have been DRILLED that I have to start out with "Dear X," and finish with a "Thank you," regardless of situation, if I have been in a long email chain, etc. Anything beyond "Dear all, this has been processed, thank you, jenfullmoon" is highly likely to be written up and critiqued. But yes, I have to write knowing I will be nitpicked and scrutinized, especially in the public email box. Whee.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:23 AM on October 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
Do you have a second computer screen/monitor?
I keep my inbox on my second screen, by default. Whenever I'm not using that screen for something else, my email inbox is visible.
I try to reply to emails as they come in. If I can't, I leave the email unread (or rather, I read it and then mark it as unread) and come back to it as soon as I can.
Most emails (in general, but of course YMMV) don't require more than 2 minutes to respond. So, I remind myself of that whenever I'm tempted to put one off.
If I return to my desk and find that a lot of emails have come in since I last checked, I do two quick scans. The first scan is to check for anything that might be "urgent," and the second scan is to check for anything that's unimportant/junk. For example, automated emails or updates from a service that I use, but that are not essential, I immediately mark as "read" and move on. Then I work on the rest of the emails by order of priority - urgent, less urgent, and so on.
Even though I personally work emails as they come in, that doesn't mean I drop everything for them. I keep an eye on them and wait until I'm done with my current task, then toggle over to emails for a bit, then toggle back to my other work once I'm caught up. The emails will still be there if I let them wait for 10 or 20 minutes - I just try to fit them in when I've come to a natural break or transition during my other work.
This next suggestion may not be possible or practical for you, but I'm also really strict about to whom I give my email address. If I sign up for a service through my work email, I immediately adjust my email subscription settings so that I don't receive email updates unless it's something I care about. The less inbox clutter I encounter, the less overwhelming my inbox will be.
A question you may want to ask yourself is, what do you dislike or struggle with the most when it comes to responding to/managing your emails? Is it something that you can automate, or that can be made easier via a tool or service? Are there emails you can unsubscribe from? Depending on your email service provider, is it possible to send certain emails to a separate inbox that you only check once per day (maybe setting a daily reminder or during a 5 to 10 minute block in your calendar)?
posted by nightrecordings at 11:25 AM on October 4, 2023
I keep my inbox on my second screen, by default. Whenever I'm not using that screen for something else, my email inbox is visible.
I try to reply to emails as they come in. If I can't, I leave the email unread (or rather, I read it and then mark it as unread) and come back to it as soon as I can.
Most emails (in general, but of course YMMV) don't require more than 2 minutes to respond. So, I remind myself of that whenever I'm tempted to put one off.
If I return to my desk and find that a lot of emails have come in since I last checked, I do two quick scans. The first scan is to check for anything that might be "urgent," and the second scan is to check for anything that's unimportant/junk. For example, automated emails or updates from a service that I use, but that are not essential, I immediately mark as "read" and move on. Then I work on the rest of the emails by order of priority - urgent, less urgent, and so on.
Even though I personally work emails as they come in, that doesn't mean I drop everything for them. I keep an eye on them and wait until I'm done with my current task, then toggle over to emails for a bit, then toggle back to my other work once I'm caught up. The emails will still be there if I let them wait for 10 or 20 minutes - I just try to fit them in when I've come to a natural break or transition during my other work.
This next suggestion may not be possible or practical for you, but I'm also really strict about to whom I give my email address. If I sign up for a service through my work email, I immediately adjust my email subscription settings so that I don't receive email updates unless it's something I care about. The less inbox clutter I encounter, the less overwhelming my inbox will be.
A question you may want to ask yourself is, what do you dislike or struggle with the most when it comes to responding to/managing your emails? Is it something that you can automate, or that can be made easier via a tool or service? Are there emails you can unsubscribe from? Depending on your email service provider, is it possible to send certain emails to a separate inbox that you only check once per day (maybe setting a daily reminder or during a 5 to 10 minute block in your calendar)?
posted by nightrecordings at 11:25 AM on October 4, 2023
A lot of this is based on confidence in your self: your decisions, ideas, knowledge and judgment. So don’t kick yourself for “mistakes” and congratulate yourself when you feel clear and confident in your communication. Success breeds success.
Also, be clear on
- what they are asking for in their email (information? Clarity? Direction? Emotional reassurance?)
- what your answer is… write the BLUF: bottom line up front.
For eg., Just today someone sends me an email asking for tech info. My answer is: yes we can do it with existing equipment. THEN I write some supporting reasons why this is so.
Above posters are right: people don’t read clearly / closely as you’d think they do.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:48 AM on October 4, 2023
Also, be clear on
- what they are asking for in their email (information? Clarity? Direction? Emotional reassurance?)
- what your answer is… write the BLUF: bottom line up front.
For eg., Just today someone sends me an email asking for tech info. My answer is: yes we can do it with existing equipment. THEN I write some supporting reasons why this is so.
Above posters are right: people don’t read clearly / closely as you’d think they do.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:48 AM on October 4, 2023
Only look at your inbox when you have time to reply to the ones that are quick to reply to. Don't view the same email multiple times as much as you can. Write responses if it is doable under 5ish min. Usually if my draft email ends up long, it actually means it needs to be a mtg or two way slack.
posted by ellerhodes at 12:21 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by ellerhodes at 12:21 PM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]
We teach our internal users about the 4 D's of emailing.
* Do - this is something you can immediately answer within 5 minutes
* Defer - this is answerable by you but doesn't need to be done immediately
* Delete - this is easy
* Delegate - you aren't the right person to handle this...someone else is
In addition to the above, the internal course teaches people to block time at the beginning, middle and end of the day for general mailbox processing AND not to look at your mail otherwise. This is obviously not possible for all jobs or work cultures but there are people that swear by it.
For the people that do follow this system, there is also reoccurring scheduled blocks of time at the beginning of the week to schedule out the deferred tasks i.e. you fill out calendar entries that say that you are going to work on a particular task during a particular time.
Again this only works for some types of jobs and some types of mindset. It also means that instead of being ruled by your inbox, you are beholden to your calendar and task list.
posted by mmascolino at 12:28 PM on October 4, 2023
* Do - this is something you can immediately answer within 5 minutes
* Defer - this is answerable by you but doesn't need to be done immediately
* Delete - this is easy
* Delegate - you aren't the right person to handle this...someone else is
In addition to the above, the internal course teaches people to block time at the beginning, middle and end of the day for general mailbox processing AND not to look at your mail otherwise. This is obviously not possible for all jobs or work cultures but there are people that swear by it.
For the people that do follow this system, there is also reoccurring scheduled blocks of time at the beginning of the week to schedule out the deferred tasks i.e. you fill out calendar entries that say that you are going to work on a particular task during a particular time.
Again this only works for some types of jobs and some types of mindset. It also means that instead of being ruled by your inbox, you are beholden to your calendar and task list.
posted by mmascolino at 12:28 PM on October 4, 2023
While it is good to keep up with email, don't obsess over responding _too_ quickly. It becomes a chore that distracts from doing other work, for one thing, and for another if people "learn" your response time is very fast, they will _expect_ it.
posted by TimHare at 11:43 PM on October 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by TimHare at 11:43 PM on October 4, 2023 [6 favorites]
If responsiveness is the goal, make a commitment to always respond to every email the first time you read it. If you can't actually provide what they want right now, that response can just be "I have received, and will get back to you by x date". Then put that commitment into your task-tracking system/calendar/to-do list, whatever you use.
posted by agentofselection at 6:37 AM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by agentofselection at 6:37 AM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
I agree very much with phunniemee, just answer them right away. If you don't know the answer right away, respond and tell them you're looking into it. I can't tell you how much this will improve people's perception of how much you care about what they're trying to get done.
The other thing is be ruthless about what's actually in your inbox. In my organization we have a 2-year retention policy on deleted items, so most of the time if something doesn't need any action from me I just delete it knowing I can find it later. If this isn't the case for you, make some folders where you can put things you might want to find later. The only things in your inbox should be items you need to do something about. If you have thousands of items in your inbox it's just a source of stress and you'll feel overwhelmed.
posted by exceptinsects at 9:52 AM on October 6, 2023
The other thing is be ruthless about what's actually in your inbox. In my organization we have a 2-year retention policy on deleted items, so most of the time if something doesn't need any action from me I just delete it knowing I can find it later. If this isn't the case for you, make some folders where you can put things you might want to find later. The only things in your inbox should be items you need to do something about. If you have thousands of items in your inbox it's just a source of stress and you'll feel overwhelmed.
posted by exceptinsects at 9:52 AM on October 6, 2023
Also, I have some rules set up so that particular types of emails (e.g. I work for a large library system and there are a lot of emails about "shelf checks" that I can ignore because I don't work in a branch) get immediately put in a folder so I don't have to see them, and occasionally I go thru and make sure I didn't miss anything, then delete them.
This also helps the inbox seem less overwhelming.
posted by exceptinsects at 9:55 AM on October 6, 2023
This also helps the inbox seem less overwhelming.
posted by exceptinsects at 9:55 AM on October 6, 2023
Gmail and Outlook have these predictive prompts now. Things like "Thanks for the update," or "I'll get right on it," where you can just click to insert the phrase. I'm realizing I rarely need more than a phrase when responding to email. If there is much more content, the phrase should be "can we set up a time?"
For when I do need put more into it, generative AI is great for email. ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, whichever.
The prompt that I type is sometimes: "Respond to this email: [paste email]"
Or if I'm writing the initial email: "Write this as a professional email: [type haphazard notes of what I need to say]"
I paste ChatGPT's response into my email, and I correct whatever is wrong or doesn't apply.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 12:13 PM on October 6, 2023
For when I do need put more into it, generative AI is great for email. ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, whichever.
The prompt that I type is sometimes: "Respond to this email: [paste email]"
Or if I'm writing the initial email: "Write this as a professional email: [type haphazard notes of what I need to say]"
I paste ChatGPT's response into my email, and I correct whatever is wrong or doesn't apply.
posted by Former Congressional Representative Lenny Lemming at 12:13 PM on October 6, 2023
What kind of emails are these? What is your role? What is expected? How many of these emails are from someone CCing half the planet for their own weird reasons? Do you get emails because someone has set up a rule to have emails from Ferd in procurement forwarded to you, so you can read them and make sure they can safely be ignored? Do people need you to approve invoices? Are you responsible for compiling status reports? Are these emails from client who have questions about proposals, deliverables, or bills? Does your role or department have a understood or document response time?
Are there any guidelines or rules for company email?
Some of the posted answers will solve all your problems, and some of them are terrible - depending on your workplace and your job.
The one thing I will say ,without knowing any context, if you are the kind of person who likes to lay out a case, provide context, and then give the answer, then flip it. Give the answer in one line so it can be read on a phone, and then you can add the support for your answer.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 7:58 PM on October 6, 2023
Are there any guidelines or rules for company email?
Some of the posted answers will solve all your problems, and some of them are terrible - depending on your workplace and your job.
The one thing I will say ,without knowing any context, if you are the kind of person who likes to lay out a case, provide context, and then give the answer, then flip it. Give the answer in one line so it can be read on a phone, and then you can add the support for your answer.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 7:58 PM on October 6, 2023
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by shesbookish at 9:29 AM on October 4, 2023