50 TIPS FOR MANAGING

EMAIL CHAOS

PRODUCTIVITY PARTNERS, INC.

CYNTHIA KYRIAZIS, PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIST, COACH & TRAINER
 ENOUGH.

WE HAVE ENOUGH EMAIL COMING AND GOING AND THE PACE IS

STEADILY INCREASING.

THE GOOD NEWS IS WE CAN LEARN TO HANDLE EMAIL AND

MAKE IT A MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT MEANS OF
COMMUNICATION BY USING AND PRACTICING SOME OF THE TIPS
AND IDEAS IN THIS BOOKLET.

BUT THEN AGAIN…IS IT MANAGING THE EMAIL OR MANAGING

OUR REACTION TO IT?

AND REMEMBER TO ALWAYS…

CLEAR YOUR DESK. CLEAR YOUR MIND.

ORGANIZE IT

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 INCOMING EMAIL
TIP #1
TREAT YOUR EMAIL 'IN-BOX' AS YOU WOULD YOUR DESKTOP
'IN-BOX'. THERE’S ONLY 4 THINGS YOU DO WITH INFORMATION
- ACT, FILE, TOSS, READ – AFTR!!

TIP #2
TIME MANAGEMENT TACTICS REQUIRE YOU TO SORT
INFORMATION. CREATE A FOLDER TO STORE LOW PRIORITY
MESSAGES UNTIL YOU’RE READY TO READ THEM. IF YOU DON'T
RETURN TO READ THESE EMAILS IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF
TIME, ASSESS HOW IMPORTANT THE INFORMATION ACTUALLY IS
TO YOU AND WHETHER OR NOT STORING AND REPEATEDLY RE-
VISITING LATER IS WORTH YOUR TIME AND EFFORT.

TIP #3
EMAILS CAUSE FEELINGS OF 'URGENCY' BUT AREN'T
NECESSARILY 'IMPORTANT'. REFRAIN FROM CHECKING EMAIL
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. CHECK IT AFTER YOU HAVE
WORKED ON YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY. TRY CHECKING
IT MID-MORNING, BEFORE/AFTER LUNCH, LATE AFTERNOON
AND BEFORE LEAVING WORK.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #4
KEEP SYMBOLS AND CHARACTERS TO A MINIMUM: ;-) MAY NOT
MEAN ANYTHING TO SOME FOLKS.

TIP #5
DECIDE WHICH EMAIL ABBREVIATIONS ARE ACCEPTABLE AND KEEP
THEM TO A MINIMUM.

TIP #6
USE AN AUTO RESPONDER TO LET OTHERS KNOW WHEN YOU’RE
OUT OF THE OFFICE OR WON'T BE CHECKING YOUR EMAIL

OUTGOING EMAIL…
TIP # 7
USE A CONCISE AND MEANINGFUL SUBJECT LINE. DOING THIS HELPS
RECEIVERS PRIORITIZE, FILE, CATEGORIZE, CROSS-REFERENCE AND
RETRIEVE MORE EASILY. EMAIL CAN THEN BECOME AN EFFECTIVE
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION...NOT A BURDEN.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #8
THE FIRST SENTENCE OF YOUR EMAIL SHOULD ASK FOR THE
ACTION OR INFORMATION YOU NEED FROM THE RECIPIENT. FOR
EXAMPLE: "ATTACHED IS THE FINAL BUDGET DRAFT FOR YOUR
REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON FRIDAY.“

TIP #9
BE SPECIFIC. DON'T REQUEST OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES.

TIP #10
STICK TO WRITING ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER.

TIP #11
IF YOU HAVE A SHORT MESSAGE THAT CAN FIT ENTIRELY ON THE
SUBJECT LINE, END WITH <EOM>(END OF MESSAGE) SO THE
RECIPIENT KNOWS THE EXTENT OF THE EMAIL.

TIP #12
KEEP YOUR MESSAGE FOCUSED. IF YOU CHANGE THE SUBJECT,
EITHER PUT THE INFORMATION IN THE SUBJECT LINE OR START A
NEW EMAIL.
(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017
 TIP #13
GREET YOUR READERS WITH A PERSONAL SALUTATION.

TIP #14
USE THE SPELLCHECKER.

TIP #15
IF SPELLCHECKER ISN’T AVAILABLE AND THE MESSAGE IS
TECHNICAL OR LENGTHY, COMPOSE IT IN A WORD DOC RUN
SPELLCHECKER AND THEN CUT AND PASTE IT INTO THE BODY OF
THE EMAIL. AN EXTRA STEP, BUT A MORE POLISHED AND
ACCURATE DOCUMENT.

TIP #16
RE-READ THE MESSAGE BEFORE YOU HIT THE 'SEND' BUTTON.

TIP #17
IT’S NOT NECESSARY TO RESPOND TO EMAILS MARKED "FYI"
(FOR YOUR INFORMATION).

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #18
CREATE TEMPLATES FOR FREQUENTLY USED RESPONSES.
TIP #19
AVOID USING CAPITALS...IN EMAIL IT MEANS YOU’RE
SHOUTING AT THE RECIPIENT.

TIP #20
WHEN APPROPRIATE, INCLUDE THE MESSAGE THREAD.
TIP #21
AVOID AUTOMATICALLY HITTING 'REPLY TO ALL' AND
INCLUDING ALL ORIGINAL ATTACHMENTS. BULKY
ATTACHMENTS OR CUMBERSOME FILES (I.E. POWERPOINT,
PHOTOS, ETC.) CREATE CLUTTER AND AREN’T NECESSARY
UNLESS SPECIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL EMAIL.

TIP #22
ADD DISCLAIMERS WHEN APPROPRIATE.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #23
USE "CC/BC" ONLY WHEN APPROPRIATE. BETTER YET, ELIMINATE IT ALTOGETHER.
TIP #24
COPYRIGHT LAWS APPLY TO EMAIL AS WELL AS PRINTED MATERIAL. CITE
COPYRIGHTS WHEN/WHERE APPROPRIATE.

TIP #25
USE "REPLY TO ALL" ONLY WHEN TRULY NECESSARY.
TIP #26
REFRAIN FROM FORWARDING TOO MANY JOKES OR CAT VIDEOS.
TIP #27
OBTAIN PERMISSION PRIOR TO COPYING SOMEONE ELSE'S MESSAGE OR
ATTACHMENT.

TIP #28
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVATE ISSUES MAY BE BETTER EXPLORED THROUGH OTHER
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

TIP #29
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS ADDRESSED TO YOU.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #30
AVOID THE OVERUSE OF THE TERMS 'URGENT', 'HIGH PRIORITY' AND 'IMPORTANT'.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #30
LEARN HOW TO WRITE GREAT EMAILS FROM THE MILITARY – GREAT INFO!

TIP #32
REMEMBER FORMATTING. EMAIL WAS DESIGNED FOR SHORT LINES AND
PARAGRAPHS. PLENTY OF WHITE SPACE KEEPS THE MESSAGE READABLE AND
INVITING.

TIP #33
USE LISTS, INDENTATIONS AND BULLET POINTS IN ORDER TO GET YOUR MESSAGE
TO STAND OUT CLEARLY AND EASILY.

TIP #34
THE TYPES OF RESPONSES YOU WOULD MAKE VERBALLY ARE UNDERSTOOD IN
EMAIL AND DON'T NEED TO BE SENT BACK TO THE SENDER. AVOID TRIVIAL OR
UNNECESSARY RESPONSES SUCH AS 'WILL DO', OR 'OK'. THANK SOMEONE IN
ADVANCE WHEN SENDING YOUR EMAIL.

TIP #35
TREAT EMAILS AS THOUGH THEY WERE BEING WRITTEN ON YOUR COMPANY'S
LETTERHEAD. REFRAIN FROM SENDING EMAILS WITH OFFENSIVE REMARKS,
OBSCENE LANGUAGE OR BAD NEWS.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #36
NEVER CRITICIZE OR INSULT THIRD PARTIES.
TIP #37
TRY TO KEEP LANGUAGE GENDER NEUTRAL.
TIP #38
NEVER, EVER REPRIMAND SOMEONE THROUGH EMAIL.
TIP #39
SEPARATE OPINION FROM NON-OPINION IN ORDER TO RESPOND
APPROPRIATELY.

TIP #40
IF SOMETHING IS UNCLEAR, TRY NOT TO BEGIN OR CONTINUE EMAIL TAG.
PICK UP THE PHONE.

TIP #41
CREATE AND USE SIGNATURE LINES. LIMIT IT TO 4-5 LINES OF
INFORMATION.

TIP #42
TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE CAREFULLY WHEN SENDING BROADCAST
INFORMATION.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #43
SEND 'GROUP' MAIL ONLY WHEN IT IS
USEFUL TO EVERYONE IN THE GROUP.
(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017
TIP #44
WHEN APPROPRIATE, CREATE 'GROUP'
LISTS FOR REGULAR CORRESPONDENCE.
TIP #45
THINK ABOUT THE LEVEL OF
FORMALITY YOU WANT TO IMPART
WHICH IS DEPENDENT UPON YOUR
AUDIENCE.
TIP #46 TIP #47 TIP #48
IF YOU BELIEVE YOU WERE IN ERROR IF YOU DON'T RECEIVE AN EXPECTED REPLYING TO SPAM IS A WASTE OF
ON A MESSAGE YOU ALREADY SENT,
RESPONSE, CALL THE PERSON. NOTHING TIME.
ADMIT IT QUICKLY. RECEIVERS ARE
REPLACES PERSONAL CONTACT.
USUALLY MORE FORGIVING IF THEY SEE
THAT YOU HAVE RECOGNIZED AND
ACTED ON THE ISSUE.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 TIP #49
THERE'S NO ACCOUNTING FOR WRITING STYLES. SOMEONE
MAY SOUND 'ABRUPT', BUT IT MAY JUST BE THE PERSON'S
WRITING STYLE.

TIP #50
BECOME PROACTIVE ABOUT REQUESTING YOUR NAME BE
REMOVED FROM DISTRIBUTION LISTS THAT DON'T REQUIRE
YOUR INPUT.

A FINAL THOUGHT…
THINK ABOUT SETTING AN EMAIL 'AGREEMENT' AMONG
TEAM MEMBERS WHICH OUTLINES ACCEPTABLE
ABBREVIATIONS, GUIDELINES FOR CC, ETC. IT WILL SAVE
TIME AND HELP YOUR TEAM OR WORKGROUP WORK MORE
AT A MORE EFFICIENT LEVEL.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO FIND AND SHARE YOUR OWN TIPS,

TECHNIQUES, METHODS, AND THOUGHTS FOR REDUCING
VOLUME WITH ALL THE PEOPLE IN YOUR EMAIL
'WORLD‘…WHICH IS JUST ABOUT EVERYONE!

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 Since the original production of this ebooklet (1998), lots has changed but
email of course continues to be our preferred method of
communication…and it’s obviously not going away.

Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke

University, recently suggested some interesting ways to try and beat back
the email beast.

You may already practice some of these techniques,

but it’s worth a read

And here is a list of his TedTalks – just in case!

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

 Cynthia is founder and President of Organize it &
Productivity Partners, Inc. a leading provider of training &
coaching in the topic areas of time, information & decision-
making management.

She focuses on the principles, strategies & behaviors that

help decision-makers & their teams improve focus, sales,
profitability & overall job performance.

Cynthia is a productivity coach, facilitator & subject

matter expert in the areas of time and self-management.
This distinction enables her to work with clients on process,
systems and performance improvement.
Cynthia Kyriazis
Productivity Strategist & Coach Amazon Best Seller

cynthia@ProPartnersInc.com
www.ProPartnersInc.com
http://MoveYourMindset.wordpress.com

913-649-0878

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis 2017