Ah. E-mails. They are such a crucial part of my student/work life but I hate them. They make my life more convenient but I hate them. They save millions of trees and enable fast communication around the world, but, I HATE THEM.
(Why is good e-mail etiquette so crucial? As you probably have already heard, it's considered a communication skill. Before, there used to be a stack of paper on your desk for any sort of communication at work. But now, it's all about e-mails. Any real working adult or professional has mastered this essential skill (well, maybe not everyone, because I still have coworkers not being responsive everywhere and even at my school) or is expected to master this before they get hired.)
My e-mail life started in my undergraduate school years. I was a preceptor for a class with a professor with high standards. One of the things she emphasized was e-mail etiquette. So whenever I received an e-mail from her, I was rushing to reply to her as soon as possible. This was not that horrible. I actually liked this because I learned how to communicate via e-mails and to be responsive. However, when I got to my graduate program, I started getting overwhelmed. In undergrad, I only had to worry about e-mailing one person. But when I got more officer positions in student organizations in graduate school, the number of e-mails I was reading everyday increased exponentially.
The first two years, I was not stressed out too much. When I started getting sick, that's when the domino effect started. I wasn't able to carry out basic daily tasks (such as showering), so naturally, e-mails became the last thing on my mind. Not off my mind, though. I would be in too much pain to worry about it and then when I was feeling better here and there, they became heavy weights on my mind. I kept thinking about how I should be replying to these individuals but wasn't, although a few minutes on my phone would have sufficed. When I got better, it was challenging to get my good e-mail habit back. I took a few days to reply to things, I didn't reply to certain e-mails, and I wasn't checking e-mails at all some days.
What did I do to get back my old good habit of e-mailing? Here are some tips:
1. Read them at certain times of the day.
For example, I designated 9AM, 11AM, 3PM, and 6PM to be reading e-mail times. One thing I noticed is that I got distracted by e-mails when I heard a notification sound or mark indicating that I got a new e-mail. I would immediately stop everything I was doing, go on to my e-mail, and start doing what the e-mail asks me for. This eventually made everything take a longer time. So I decided that I'm not going to check my e-mails outside of these times to improve my productivity. I'm trying to see if 9AM is necessary or not because I don't like starting my day with e-mails due to the same reason.
2. Reply right when you read them.
One thing I noticed is that if I don't reply right when I read the e-mail, I forget about them and remember them a few days later. So I just reply right then and there. This way, I don't have to worry about the e-mails throughout the day. Another trick I do is marking the e-mails as unread (the ones I can't reply to right away), which will make me read the e-mail again later on.
3. Always be the last one to end the communication.
If someone asks you to do something and you actually finish the job, then please let them know that the job is done. Or if they said thank you to you, then reply back saying the same thing or something as simple as 'you're welcome'. This will make other people feel less ignored and have them notice you. It will make them think that you are genuine, that you are responsive and responsible. Unfortunately, workplaces have a tendency of rating someone's performance based on the person's likableness. So it won't hurt to take a few extra seconds to reply to a simple e-mail with a "thank you" or "have a great day".
So what do you guys do for your e-mails? I would love to hear feedback from you guys and cheers to being a better professional and having good communication skills.
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