Email is supposed to make communication more efficient. Yeah right! Most people don’t know how to use email effectively and the result is multiple time consuming emails being sent to clarify what would have been communicated in 15 seconds on the phone.
IT Security has posted “Hacking Email: 99 Email Security and Productivity Tips“. The tips cover every thing from etiquette to productivity and communicating effectively. A definite must read, even if you already consider yourself an email guru.
One of the largest problems I face when dealing with my inbox is the sheer volume of it I receive. Eric Mack (via Scoble) has a great solution for clearing out overflowing inboxes:
“if an email takes more than two minutes to respond to, I delete it.”
Maybe that’s a little extreme. Maybe I’ll try:
“If an email takes more than two minutes to respond to, I’ll call you.”
That should help avoid all those emails looking for clarification. Nothing indicates tone better (other than face to face) than your voice!
Oh, here’s a quick idea.. I’ll just send a GTalk voice message to you 😉
Paul O'Flaherty 