10-Second Tips: Optimize E-Mail

E-mail is the "oxygen" of the modern internet economy. Modern employees need not only to cope with it but to master it. Many tips on how to optimize e-mail are provided in the book. Here are a few of those tips, along with some community discussion.

"Check your e-mail 3-4 times per day. One proven method is start-of-day, noon, mid-afternoon, and end-of-day." —10-Second Internet Manager

"Reply to sender, not all. (This can reduce total e-mail load by 25 - 75%!)" —10-Second Internet Manager

"Avoid attachments. Summarize key points and include in the e-mail." —10-Second Internet Manager

"Set up a "5-weeks folder" that deletes its content automatically after 5 weeks. Use it for messages you're unsure about, such as the e-mail you want to delete, but you're not sure if the guy's going to call you tomorrow and ask about it"—Intel's 10 E-mail Commandments (Fast Company)

{The MIT Laboratory of Computer Science says that} the average person gets about 20 emails a day and spend three minutes dealing with each one...e-mail traffic will increase 10-fold over the next few years. (You do the math).—Niall McKay, Red Herring

Reading and answering e-mail takes {Michael} Dell about two hours a day…175 incoming , 60 outgoing —Fast Company

When possible, send a message that is only a subject line, so recipients dont's have to open the email to read a single line. End the subject line wiht <EOM>, the acronym for End of Message. —Intel's 10 E-mail Commandments (Fast Company)

"Manage email with macro scripts and save repetitive keystrokes. Phrases like "thank you for your assistance" or "direct questions to these numbers" lend themselves to macro commands and save time in managing large volumes of email." —Mark R. (site submission)

"Create a folder where you store the e-mail you sent to others, that require their follow-up or action. Once a week or month, review the e-mail in this folder to quickly review whether all has been done." —Ron V. (site submission)

"Never document negative thoughts. Develop the ability to quickly express all thoughts in a positive, productive way. Saves a lot of time fixing and explaining." —Dave H. (site submission)

"Encourage folks to address you directly if action is needed, and cc if for your information only. Then filter the inbox appropriately." —Joe F. (site submission)

"I get 200 e-mails per day. I respond to the ones from the portfolio companies same day. I get to the unknown ones over the weekend …The only time I have for voice mail is when I am driving between companies." —Steve Jurvetson of Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson

"E-mail also encourages multi-tasking - managers, for example, can screen messages updating them about projects while talking on the phone with a client." —Carol Hymowitz, Wall Street Journal

"When faced with too much incoming email, I sort the email by name, read those who have direct impact on my projects and immediate deadlines. Then I read the second tier, and then the third tier. etc …" —Judy C. (site submission)

"Get off of junk e-mail lists immediately. E-mail, call, complain to authorities. Consider yourself under attack!" —Tom S. (Site submission)

"DON'T TYPE EMAIL MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS. PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU ARE ANGRY {obvious, but worth repeating!}" —Don G. (site submission)

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If you see tips you like, you can send this page to a friend. Visit other chapters to find more "10-second tips."

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