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6 ways to write productive emails

Dr Monica Seeley releases guide to email management

According to the Radicati Group, workers worldwide collectively sent 112.5 billion emails each day last year, and the average employee receives 122 work messages a day. That’s a lot of time spent keeping your inbox clean. Fast Company recently asked productivity expert Chris Bailey how to write productive emails, and these were his top tips.

1 Keep it short
Analysis from email scheduler Boomerang shows that messages of 50 to 125 words were the most likely to receive a response. Bailey says he tries to keep his emails to three sentences or less and anything longer calls for a phone conversation. He also suggests doing away with long sign-offs.

2 Choose your time
That same analysis showed messages sent at the beginning of the day and during lunch had the most responses because people coming back from a break or starting their day usually check their emails immediately. Bailey says the key to productive emails is picking the right time to send them; avoid sending messages after work hours and definitely don’t do so if you don’t want to receive emails from other people.

3 Think before you send
Sometimes it’s best to think about a reply before you send one. Does it really need a reply? Are you saying the right thing? Does your message contain all the important information? Save yourself from having to send multiple emails by checking your message before you hit send.

4 Express yourself
You’re more likely to get a response from somebody if you inject a little bit of your personality into the message. Try to use more interesting language if you want to be heard.

5 Create a follow-up folder
If you send an email that requires a response, save it to a folder with a label that tells you it needs to be followed up. That way you know to chase answers and nothing slips through the cracks.

6 Recognise your limits
There comes a point when emails become more of a hindrance than a helping hand. Don’t let your inbox get in the way of more important tasks. If it starts to become a distraction, find ways to break away from it for the sake of productivity.

Read the original article at bit.ly/1splZ61