We waste a lot of time by choice. That's OK, but when we've chosen to waste it, complaining bitterly about what we ourselves are doing isn't OK. And that's what many of us are doing with email.
Here's Part I of a little catalog of painful things we do (or don't do) with email. See "Email Antics: II," Point Lookout for December 31, 2003, for more.
Wasting time is OK,but complaining bitterly
about what we ourselves
are doing isn't
- Forget to attach the attachment
- Not so bad if you realize it, and then quickly send another copy with the attachment. This one is so common that an explanation for the second message is no longer necessary. Truly embarrassing, though, if you don't realize it and someone chooses to Reply All to tell you, especially if "All" is a large number of important people.
- Forget to remove their attachment from your reply
- Some email systems include the attachment in replies by default, which is annoying to people on mobile devices or slow connections. Change your preferences.
- Reply to All when replying to one will do
- Especially when your reply is something like "thanks." Restrict your reply to the people who really care.
- Reply when you're angry
- I call this Typing Under the Influence (of adrenaline). You're sure to regret it, perhaps as soon as you click Send. Before you click Send, Breathe. See "Avoid Typing Under the Influence," Point Lookout for May 23, 2001.
- Write an outrageously angry reply, not intending to send it, and then send it accidentally
- You might think of the writing as a therapeutic exercise, but it's dangerous. Never type anything into your computer that you wouldn't want the entire world to see.
- Participate in an email feud with many CCs
- Even with no CCs, this is worse than a waste of time. You can't "win," and you're bound to look foolish (or worse) to some of the observers.
- Try to resolve in email any issue that has high emotional content
Even a great writer has difficulty dealing with emotions in words. Deal with emotions in person or at least by telephone. See "Email Happens," Point Lookout for September 5, 2001.
- Get their address by replying to an old message that predates their change of address
- You'll think you sent them the message, but what if they no longer check email there? If you're lucky, you'll get a bounce report. If not, you both lose valuable time.
- Believe that your writing is so clear that nobody could possibly misinterpret it
- It's strange, but when somebody interprets our words in a way different from what we intended we call that a misinterpretation. Maybe what we sent was a misstatement.
- Believe that your first interpretation of someone else's words is the only possible interpretation
- If you can't think of three ways to interpret something, keep thinking. Or maybe start thinking.
If you do some of these, and you'd like to stop, tack this list on your wall. Highlight the ones you want to avoid, and review it once in a while to see how you're doing. Be patient, expect lapses, and celebrate your victories. Next issue in this series
Top
Next Issue
Are you so buried in email that you don't even have time to delete your spam? Do you miss important messages? So many of the problems we have with email are actually within our power to solve, if we just realize the consequences of our own actions. Read 101 Tips for Writing and Managing Email to learn how to make peace with your inbox. Order Now!
And if you have organizational responsibility, you can help transform the culture to make more effective use of email. You can reduce volume while you make content more valuable. You can discourage email flame wars and that blizzard of useless if well-intended messages from colleagues and subordinates. Read Where There's Smoke There's Email to learn how to make email more productive at the organizational scale — and less dangerous. Order Now!
Your comments are welcome
Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.About Point Lookout
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and
found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.
This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.
Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.
Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.
Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.
Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
The Shape of the Table
- Not only was the meeting running over, but it now seemed that the entire far end of the table was having
its own meeting. Why are some meetings like this?
Recalcitrant Collaborators
- Much of the work we do happens outside the context of a team. We collaborate with people in other departments,
other divisions, and other companies. When these collaborators are reluctant, resistive, or recalcitrant,
what can we do?
The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated
- In fiction and movies, the world is often simple. There's a protagonist, a goal, and a series of obstacles.
The protagonists and goals are good, and the obstacles are bad. Real life is more complicated.
Sixteen Overload Haiku
- Most of us have some experience of being overloaded and overworked. Many of us have forgotten what it
is not to be overloaded. Here's a contemplation of the state of overload.
Red Flags: III
- Early signs of troubles in collaborations include toxic conflict, elevated turnover, and antipatterns
in communication. But among the very earliest red flags are abuses of power. They're more significant
than other red flags because abuses of power can convert any collaboration into a morass of destructive
politics.
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming September 3: Contributions in Team Meetings: Advocating
- An agenda in the form of an ordered list of topics might not provide an appropriate framework for a given meeting. For example, if A depends on B, and B depends on A, we must find a way to discuss A and B together in some orderly fashion. Here are some alternatives to linear, ordered agendas. Available here and by RSS on September 3.
And on September 10: Contributions in Team Meetings: Scoping
- Some meetings focus on solving specific problems. We call them "working sessions." More often, we delegate problem solving to task teams, while meetings wrestle with the difficult task of identifying or "scoping" problems rather than solving them. Scoping discussions can be perilous. Available here and by RSS on September 10.
Coaching services
I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.
Get the ebook!
Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:
- Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
- Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
- Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
- Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
- Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
- Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )
Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info
Follow Rick
Recommend this issue to a friend
Send an email message to a friend
rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.comSend a message to Rick
A Tip A Day feed
Point Lookout weekly feed
