But in the past few months, I've learned that email systems are hardly worth writing about in any detail because most people are in no position to implement entirely new email systems for their existing, chaotic inbox. It would be like walking into the cockpit and recommending that the plane be rebuilt while in flight (1). This problem seems due to the ubiquity of 'learning by doing' rather than, you know, its much-maligned counterpart, 'learning by learning'. The way people start emailing resembles the way they start running - they begin by doing, initially guided by intuition, and mimicking others when possible. If their email has a trivial problem, they solve it by applying knowledge gained in the context of another domain (hello, filing folders!). As they become more familiar with email, their process solidifies, and although they incorporate a new trick or two once in a while, for the most part the process doesn't change much over time.
In other words, when you begin with no end in mind, you end up with nothing, or at least nothing useful. Is it any surprise that most people are ineffective with email? By ineffective, I mean routinely dealing with email-induced problems like (a) losing needed information, (b) failing to locate information on demand, (c) being overwhelmed by volume, leading to missed deadlines, (d) emotional harm, such as anxiety when thinking about email, or (e) performance causing negative perceptions from others. Those signals of an ineffective system, among others, are the consequence of starting with no system at all and letting human nature run its course.
But the answer isn't to think of something better, and then try to implement the solution within an existing framework. That's like starting to climb a hill, getting halfway up before deciding that you want to climb a mountain instead, and then wasting effort looking around for a path into the clouds. The first thing you need to do is to come back down because you can't find a mountain on a hill! Unfortunately, most of us live life halfway up Email Hill, and we see-see that there is no chance we'll go back down just to find a mountain. Our lives, jobs, or healthy disinterest in staring at a computer all f'ing day make it impractical to overhaul the inbox and start anew (2).
No, the answer is to abandon our lofty ideals and focus on practical measures. In a way, it goes back to an idea above - incorporate a new trick or two once in a while. The most effective way to help someone with email is to teach them these tricks (though perhaps equally effective is increasing the frequency of 'once in a while'). The best advice in the world still has a time and place, we can talk systems and theories in the textbooks and panel discussions, but when it comes down to the real inboxes that folks struggle with every single day, the most useful advice is whatever helps people in the moment do a little better than they did yesterday.
So, here's my advice for today, which came from (of all things) an email I sent at work replying to a general message asking for email tips. I've essentially reprinted it as I submitted it with one edit.
Enjoy, and let me know if any thoughts - by email, of course (3).
******
My tip is to limit to one issue per email – one topic, one action, one question, etc. This probably applies to 90-95% of all email. It doesn’t guarantee a short email, but I think it essentially ensures a response, as it’s easier to respond to one long thought rather than 2+ short thoughts. This tip also helps reduce miscommunication, usually by constraining responses to matters related to the original email, and the focused topic helps with future organization and filing.
If the one issue has multiple components:
- Use a numbered list
- Bullets are OK, too
If there are separate issues, use separate emails, and keep those issues separated. If separate emails seems unfeasible, consider a differ medium of communication (has anyone used Zoom?).
Best,
Tim
Footnotes
1. You can, however, rewrite a blog while in mid-post!
Despite the absurdity of the analogy, Business Bros seem to enjoy this kind of idea. It's like building a ship while it's sailing! Accepting these phrases must be a common feature of Business Bro onboarding, perhaps to better prepare BBs for speaking knowledgeably about what they know not.
Of course, this is also just another example of the main idea underlying this section of the post - when it comes to complex problems, most people prefer to start from scratch rather than repair, and the abundance of advice aligned with the former confirms the lack of interest in the latter.
2. Mount Inbox
The unusual experience I've enjoyed recently is starting two new jobs, eighteen months apart, after working in one role with escalating responsibilities for nearly six years. In a way, the only chance we get to descend Email Hill and look for Mount Inbox is after a job change, and for those folks I suggest doing what I did:
3. Oh, quiet in the peanut gallery!
Astute readers will smirk and chuckle - does the 'one thing' concept apply to TOA posts, as well, considering most of us have it emailed?
I have two thoughts, sarcastic reader. First, obviously not, unlike emails these posts are about many things, including your desire to pass time, reader, which is closely linked to my desire to pass time, all of it loosely tied to the knowledge that one day all of this will end, perhaps even by drowning. But if it is drown that we must, let's do our best to avoid drowning in email.
Second, thanks for reading.
