I’m drowning in e-mail. The sheer volume of messages that I receive comprises an informational riptide that pulls at my valuable but limited attention, often sweeping me off course. I know I’m not alone in this predicament. I also know that I have unwittingly contributed to this deluge…
In an Aug. 5 article, Escaping the Riptide, Adam Boettiger discussed how to escape the e-mail riptide not by fighting it directly, but by cutting across it laterally. One method, originally publicized in Wired News, is to declare e-mail bankruptcy.
But beyond that, it’s important to recognize that there is an ecology of e-mail. If you create e-mail messages in ways that respect the needs of recipients who are suffering from e-mail overload (that is, almost everyone), you are helping to keep the whole system balanced and mutually beneficial.
Boettiger recommends the following content tips for a healthy e-mail ecosystem:
- Make your message easy to take action on.
- Short
- Entirely readable in the preview pane
- If it can’t be read in the preview pane, it should be a phone call.
- Gets right to the point
- Establishes a clear goal
- The subject line should clearly focus on the next step that you have in mind. Remember: Your email has to actually be OPENED and READ before it can be acted on. Messages with boring or ambiguous subject lines may never even get OPENED, let alone read and acted on.
When you follow these guidelines you not only make it easier and faster for recipients to process your e-mail – you also set a good example that others may emulate, setting in motion a beneficial ripple effect.
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