Wabi-sabi. I just like saying the word: "Wabi-sabi."
 
What is Wabi-sabi? It is the Japanese ideal of celebrating and embracing the imperfect and the worn.

How does this relate to email? I'd love to tell you.
 
We hear all the time that one of the biggest time suckers for everyone today is email. It is time we embrace the imperfection that is email and use it our advantage. We need to find our Wabi-sabi of email.
 
Issues with Email
I think the three biggest issues with email are: #1: Too much. #2: Too quickly. #3: Too many.
 
We can look at alternatives to email communication but that is for another topic. Let's focus on and suggest some ways to change the way you deal with email and hopefully improve your experience. If we break down the issues with email, we can see the imperfections and work with them to get back to getting work done.
 
Fix Issue #1: Too Much
Let's face it: we all get too many emails. We can stop the emails, but we can improve the way we work them and in turn, we can start to change the way get things done with emails. The easiest thing to do is to define and adopt some email etiquette.
 
Stop the Madness - Pick up the Phone
We are all tempted to just keep emailing endlessly but try stopping the email tide with a phone call. You know, that app taking up space on your iPhone. If you think the reply will take more than three sentences to answer, call and talk to the person. You will find that when you can hear the tone and connect with them, it not only reduces the emails needed but helps to create a more connected business relationship. Yes, you can break the vicious cycle.
 
Don’t reply all; ever. Never. Ever.
Stop it. You might as well open the office window and shout your answer back. Would you ever just walk into the middle of the office and shout your reply? That’s the same as doing reply all. Take a minute, learn where the buttons are on your phone and think about who really needs to know the info you are about to share.
 
Use IM - Email is not IM
Don’t use email as instant messaging. If your IT department doesn’t allow IM, call them today and get them to approve an instant messaging software. You will be amazed at how it changes the way you communicate with colleagues, reduces emails and gets things done faster.
 
Reduce the Number of People you Send to - Use the To & CC Lines the Right Way
Make sure the person in the "To" line is the one who really needs to read and act on the email. Everyone else needs to be in the CC line. This means they should read and file the email. Too many times an email is sent with 1,000 people in the "To" line and no one is clear on who should do what. Nothing gets done. Tell your teams that the person in the "To" line is the one expected to follow up. The people in the CC line should read and file the info. And remember, never reply all.
 
Reduce questions - Make the Perfect Subject Line
  1. Put an action word in the subject line.
    Try these "Reply by" or "Review and Respond". This lets the person getting the email quickly see what you need them to do and keeps things rolling.
  2. Change the subject line when the topic changes.
    How many times do you get an email that has nothing to do with the subject line?Everyday. Multiple times. We know. Make sure if you are replying to an email and you are changing the subject, or they have changed the subject, feel free to change the subject line. 

It's time to adapt the way you view and use email so you are more productive.
See the imperfections and work with them to find your Wabi-Sabi of email. 

 

Over the next few months, we will share topics and ideas to help you and your work day. We call these T3: Tips for The Team. We will discuss the other issues "Too Quickly" and "Too Many" in the next posts. Watch for the follow up next month!