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A mixed bag this month, including email etiquette to improve sustainability and why reaching inbox zero might not be the right goal.
1 Business email etiquette for sustainability – top tips on how to reduce the energy and resources needed to manage your inbox.
The problem with email overload – the author suggests that reaching inbox zero is not sustainable. Unlike climbing Everest, once there you have achieved something. No sooner have you reached inbox zero, the inbox rapidly fills up again and you are in effect back to ground zero. And especially for those who receive in excess of 100 emails a day. We would argue it is about reducing the number your receive, changing your email behaviour and using the software etc to help you manage the inbox.
2. Think about saying no more often as advocated by Lucy Kellaway. Although more in relation to time management it also applies to helping reduce email overload.
3. MPs email accounts hacked – perhaps with all the chaos surrounding the recent election it was not surprising that hackers took advantage of it and hacked several MPs accounts! Interestingly those most vulnerable were those with weak passwords. Click here for how to create strong passwords.
4. We now spend 13 hours a week on email. Yes, its true according to a recent survey from McKinsey. Is this realistic and the best use of our time? The article suggests not surprisingly ridding yourself of all unwanted emails and learning to use the technology better.
How good are you with Outlook? Benchmark yourself now with our on-line tool.
5. All is revealed by Johnny Depp’s business manager. In the midst of an acrimonious lawsuit Johnny Depp’s business manager has revealed very personal emails to show that Depp did indeed know about his dire financial situation. Again this like Beckham email faux pass which demonstrates that you only have control over one aspect of email – choosing to hit Send. After that you have no control over where the email goes.
Tags: business email etiquette, Email faux pas, Email hacked, email overload, Johnny Depp
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Email overload is a major cause of stress and hence poor well-being. Over the last few weeks there have been several interesting articles on different ways to reduce the stress which arises from business email overload and poor business email etiquette.
1. Forget sending an email, ask for a favour in person.
It’s often hard enough to pluck up the courage to ask someone for support for example cover whilst on leave, sponsorship etc. Recent research showed that people are 35 times more likely to say yes if asked face-to-face or by phone than by email. Perhaps not a surprising result given how emails can either be mis-interpreted or even lost in a full inbox. Stop stressing about when you will receive a response, go and walk and talk.
2.Stop playing email ping-pong.
Processing an email costs the average business about £.75 per email. Ten pointless rounds of email pong-pong is £7.50 down the sink. Played by ten pairs of employees at least five times a week – your business has now wasted the equivalent of £750 a week. Can you really afford to lose this much profit not to mention time and productivity?
3.Why working from home can still leave us stressed.
The CIPD found that although job satisfaction is up and work is more flexible than ever, one in three people are looking for a less stressful job. One significant source of stress being the feeling that you are always available and find it hard to switch off. Graduates and senior staff being most at risk. The question is why and who is making these demands on your time? Often no one – they are self inflicted. Top three solutions, set your own boundaries, find the off-button or have a second mobile device for personal use. If none of these work – peel some potatoes!
4.Sleepless couples swap pillow talk for a nightcap.
Email and sleep deprivation remains a significant problem according to the latest research from the Sleep Council. Emailing late at night continues to disrupt our sleep patterns. as worrying is the fact that those turning to alcohol is up by 10% over the past few years.
5.People whose glass is always half-empty are very draining.
Not specifically about email but there is an underlying message on business email etiquette. Make sure your emails are positive even when the news is bad. Always, try to pick out one up-side.
6.How to reduce the pressures at work.
Although this wide ranging article is aimed at accountants, it contains some very useful tips for us all about how to handle increasing workloads but reduce the associated stress. On the email side the key suggestion is to deal with email in batches instead of being constantly interrupted. Where have you heard that before? If you must see emails from key people then write a rule which alerts you to only these emails.(About 1.5 minutes in on this video).
7.How to get post Blackberry Blackberry. For those still depressed over the demise of the Blackberry, there is hope of a shinny new version. Just take care that you are not feeding your email addiction.
Tags: After hours email, Blackberry, business email etiquette, Business email management, Email and sleep deprivation, email overload, Email ping-pong, email stress, Mental Health Awerness Week
Fed up with endless rounds of email ping-pong going no where? Watch video number four of Mesmo Consultancy’s new series on Business Email Management and Etiquette: top tips to stop playing email ping-pong.
First, these top tips will help you improve business and personal performance and productivity. Second, stopping playing email ping-pong will enable you to reduce email overload and improve well-being.
Tags: business email etiquette, Business email management, email overload, Email ping-pong, Mesmo Consultancy, Save time dealing with email
Hacked emails accounts reveal potentially damaging emails and some off the wall tips on dealing with people who expect an instant response to their emails. Articles of not this month touch on the need to maintain appropriate email etiquette regardless of who you are and whether using a business or personal account.
Do you want to reduce the risk of being the subject of an email fiasco? Talk to us about how our email best workshops and coaching can help.
Tags: David Beckham, email etiquette at work, Email fiasco, email overload, Taking Control of Your Inbox
Being distracted by each new email as it arrives can be a very expensive drain on your time, well-being and productivity. In this video we show you how to limit those unnecessary email distractions yet still be aware of emails from important contacts eg clients, the boss etc.
We would love your comments eg what topics to cover, was this one helpful etc. Click here to add them on YouTube.
And, click here to calculate how much time you are wasting dealing with all the unnecessary emails.
Tags: email distractions, email overload, email rules, improve personal productivity, well being