Save Time Answering Emails
Quick Tip:Â Save Loads of Time Answering E-mails
Quick Tip:Â Save Loads of Time Answering E-mailsMy inbox seems to fill up with messages I really, really want to reply to… only I don’t have time to write a proper reply just at this moment, because a proper reply takes careful wording and a long time to type up.
Here’s a solution: scan your “must reply to this” messages. Write down each person’s name and very briefly what you want to say that would require thoughtful and careful wording. “Bernice–mysterious hair loss.” “Tyler–too much makeup on last TV appearance.” Then delete all the e-mails.
Don’t bother emailing these replies. Instead, a 30-minute email can become a 10-minute phone call–and you won’t worry about anyone misinterpreting your tone. Go down your list, think about the emotion you want to convey, then call. Or if the time isn’t right, schedule a time on your calendar to call and connect. Your inbox will be empty and your people will all be attended to.
Just make sure that you don’t turn the phone into a tool for interruption, as I discussed in a previous episode. Refer to this Quick Tip to make sure that you communicate via phone properly.
Man with Tablet image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.Â
