Email Etiquette #2
11 September 2008
I'm doing a series. You can read Part #1 Use the 'Subject' field here.
Today it's time for...
One Subject per email
Don’t put more than one subject or request in the same email. By keeping them separate it saves confusion. If something relates to the “work” realm eg. The MTS Conference don’t include personal requests “Can I visit for dinner next week?”. Send a separate emails. Please.
I know that if you bunch a whole stack of things together it may seem to save time, but it is very easy to miss tasks written in a long list. Better to have an email for each task meaning you can file emails as you complete each request. If you send me an email looks 'work related' it won’t be checked on my day off, where as if it's non work related then it may get checked.
tags shameless self promotion, thinking
Posts
Yeah, and for future posts, maybe you can mention these too:
1. Don't overuse the high priority option
2. Don't reply to all unless you have to
3. Don't delete the message thread
4. Re-read the email before you send it
Do you think this extends to blogs?
Like is it cooler to have one subject per blog too? unless it's all part of a bigger idea..
you and Mikey tend to stick to this (or something similar)
Al
Talk about anal. ;-)
Good advice for work related emails, and if you absolutely must include more than one topic, make sure you have clearly identifiable sections, perhaps with a heading, or numbered.
Also, whether it's about one thing or multiple things, use paragraphs instead of writing hundreds of words in one big block!