Controlling eMail Response Time and Tone

A recent article on Career Builder titled “Do you get e-mail rage?“, offers some great tips to anyone dealing with a mass amount of email where one of many might trigger a not so nice tone. We’ve heard these helpful tips before…step back from the computer, take a minute to relax and think before you start typing back and vent to someone next to you, not in writing. These are great to keep close to you when dealing with a lot of email on a daily basis.

A similar management issue we see all the time is email control. We are all so tied to our email, no matter where we are. We feel that because our smartphones capture that email as soon as it’s sent, and we have that email on our mobile device no matter where we are, that we should respond immediatly. Sometimes, the response time is not as important as the thought that went into the response. Before you fire off a response to an email that came into your mobile device while you were checking out at the market, evaluate a few key factors into the best response possible from you. Afterall, this email, no matter how fast you responsed, will forever be in writing and no one will be remembering how quick you responded. They will however, remember what you said.

Questions to ask yourself before you respond:

1. How urgent is this email?

2. If after-hours, how important is it that I respond now? Can it wait until the am?

3. Do I need to respond with information that I should look into first?

4. Would my mind be clearer with more precise feedback if I waited to respond a later time in the day?

5. Is my schedule for email better suited at allocated times during the day? Meaning, should I respond per email or should I allow a concentrated time for email depending on my day’s tasks.

To a healthier and happier email relationship.

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