Avoid Sending Too Many Emails With These Tips

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Many companies rely on work emails and strong communication to push their company forward. However, poor conduct can set your business back somewhat too.

Of course, nobody wants to be the employee who overwhelms their colleagues with a barrage of constant emails. Balance is needed here. Otherwise, things can get confusing quickly, and simple messages can become convoluted puzzles for your workers to solve.

Remember that work emails can be annoying in usual times, so this can be a sensitive area to navigate. Whether you're at the top or bottom of the career ladder, you need to be thought of fondly in your workplace, and emails can quite easily undo all your good work in being likeable.

If you're worrying that you could be part of the problem, know that it's not too late to rein things in. Contemplate the tips below that will help you avoid sending too many emails in the future.

Double-Check Effectively

Take your time when sending an email. Ensure everything is spelt correctly, that the proper files are attached, and that the correct recipients are all listed and CC'd in.

Resending emails may not seem like a big deal at first. After all, everybody makes mistakes, and people will likely be fine with you correcting yours on occasion. However, if reissuing emails becomes a habit, you may risk the patience of your colleagues running out. Even trivial slipups can be bothersome if it's needlessly filling up inboxes.

You should also ensure that you're not sending emails to people who don't need to receive them. For instance, some employees will CC their superiors into emails when there's no need to. Others can interpret this as you inflating your ego or appealing to that of your superior. Your boss may also be bothered by this behaviour, especially if you're clogging up their inbox. Try to make sure that every recipient of your email is a necessary one.

Eliminate Water Cooler Chatter

Work emails should have focused on professionalism. Each message should be concise and fulfil a clear objective.

Therefore, you should try to omit water cooler chatter from your emails. Of course, one line of friendly courtesies won't do any harm, but if personal messages are mixed in with the professional ones, things will rapidly become muddled.

If you make space for casual chats in your emails, you also risk prolonging work conversations well past their would-be expiry dates. Should you and your colleagues want to engage in a bit of banter, either do so in person or use a separate chat system like Slack or Discord to socialise. Keep your work emails focused on work.

Should a colleague ask you about weekend plans via email, respond elsewhere. You might need to show restraint, and eventually, they should understand not to engage in idle chatter via your email. If their efforts persist, politely explain your reasoning, as your emails must be reserved for important work-related matters only.

Merge PDF Files

When sending multiple PDF files, they can be so large that they can't all be attached in one email. Some workers will assign one attachment per email, thereby sending a flurry of them to one unlucky recipient.

Instead of bombarding your colleagues, use Adobe to merge PDFs so that they can be sent as one attachment. Combining PDFs will also make it easier for your colleagues to keep track of the information you send without needing to combe through multiple emails to see which PDF they need.

Measures such as these can also help you create higher quality emails. It demonstrates that you've got people's time and priorities in mind and that you've gone the extra mile to make everything more presentable.

Alternatively, if you send multiple emails with numerous attachments, you may be perceived as a worker who cobbles things together at the eleventh hour. Remember that people can read into emails significantly, and if yours are chaotic and unorganised, colleagues may assume that you are too.

Have a Cut Off Point

There is a time to send emails and a time not to. Unfortunately, more people are failing to adhere to these rules or even show basic decency.

Unfortunately, many people are sent emails well outside of their contracted work hours, causing feelings of unrest and stress. You must not send work-related emails to workers who are off the clock, no matter how important the message is. In most instances, these matters can wait, and if not, you should attempt to solve the issue yourself or pass it on to another worker who can.

It's important to realise how destructive these issues can be to your reputation as a leader and potentially to your overall staff turnover. People don't want to work in a place that doesn't respect their free time, boundaries, or mental well-being. If you're working unusual hours, take advantage of email scheduling capabilities to ensure your messages arrive within your colleagues' work time to show that you value their time away from the computer.