Top Ten Lazy Email Habits
We’re all busy. We all have overflowing in boxes. But lazy email habits could lead to
misunderstanding, frustration, non-action, wasted effort, wasted time, damaged relationships and
ruined reputations. Are you guilty of any of these lazy habits? If so, it’s time to take action now,
before it’s too late.
1. Using a vague or outdated subject line.
An email with a subject line like ‘Update’ or ‘Hi’ or ‘News’ is not likely to inspire to
open it. Similarly, an old subject line like ‘Meeting on Tuesday’ is useless when the
meeting happened last week and today’s email is attaching a proposal. Help yourself and
save your reader’s time by making sure every subject line is clear and specific.
2. Not using a greeting or sign-off.
Remember the simple courtesies of an appropriate greeting and sign-off. And that
doesn’t mean “Thanks and regards”!
3. Not proofreading.
Have you ever sent an email to the wrong person? Have you ever misspelled the reader’s
name? Have you ever mentioned the wrong date for a meeting? Imagine my
embarrassment recently when I read back an email sent from my i-Phone saying: “Hell
get a $50 credit toasted or annual conference.” (Hell instead of he’ll, and toasted instead
of towards).Be careful while sending messages using phone. If you regularly make
errors in emails, people will question your attention to detail and your ability to handle
your work.
4. Using abbreviations or acronyms.
You may think these will save time, but they can lead to confusion for readers. While
FYI is globally recognized as ‘for your information’, FYA could cause chaos because
some people think it’s ‘for your action’ while others think it’s ‘for your approval’ –
there’s a big difference. Only use acronyms that the reader is sure to understand.
5. Clicking ‘reply all’ when not everyone needs the reply.
We are all complaining about it, but we are still receiving ‘Reply all’ emails that we
don’t need to read, then we have to open them, read them and delete them. Please, think
carefully before you ‘Reply all’.
6. Writing everything in one long paragraph.
When I receive an email that’s all one huge paragraph, it’s impossible to focus, to pick
out the main points, to find any action items, or to respond effectively. Make it easier for
your readers by structuring your messages logically and by leaving a blank line between
your (short) paragraphs.
7. Missing out essential details.
Make sure you include all essential information: dates, times, places, names, action
points. Otherwise that inevitable ‘ding-dong’ will begin, wasting time and causing
frustration. Again, it comes back to proofreading carefully to ensure everything is
included and nothing is missed.
8. Using unfriendly tone.
If your tone is not quite right, readers could easily be hurt or offended. Take time to read
messages carefully and add some extra words if necessary.
9. Not answering with the requested information.
If your sender asks you two questions and you answer only one, you are not only
creating more work for everyone, you are also causing frustration and damaging the
relationship. Before you click ‘send’, scan through the sender’s email again to make sure
you’ve answered all points.
[Link] answering email.
A major annoyance is not receiving a reply to a business email. This means senders have
to keep sending “Did you receive this?” messages, plus it will surely damage your
reputation because people will say things like, “She never answers her email.” Take
some time to make sure every email receives an appropriate response.
Top Ten Tips For Emailing
1. Respond to a message as soon as you receive it.
This is common courtesy, even if you have to say that a detailed response will be sent later.
2. Check the email address.
Correctly addressed email messages are delivered within seconds. It can take days to receive an
error message letting you know that an incorrectly-addressed message did not get delivered. It
could be damaging if it is received by the wrong person!
3. Always include a subject heading.
This should give the recipient a good idea of the contents of the message and makes for easier
handling and filing.
4. Keep caps lock off.
Capitals are difficult to read, they INDICATE SHOUTING and can appear THREATENING!
And also don’t use lots of exclamation marks!!***!!!!! also please don’t use lower case letters
with abbreviations and acronyms.
5. Get your greeting right.
Formality doesn’t read well in email. Replace formal salutations like ‘Dear Pam’ with informal
‘Hi Pam’ or even just ‘Pam’. Try to avoid overuse of the very boring ‘Regards’, or worse still
abbreviations like “Thks & Rgs” – don’t be lazy! Think of something novel and different – or
why not just your name?
6. Keep copies.
Just as you would keep copies of letters, it is good practice to take a hard copy of important
emails sent and received.
7. Check your message carefully and get it right first time.
There’s no second chance with emails – once you hit ‘send’ it will be in the recipient’s mailbox
within seconds!
8. Do some house-keeping regularly.
Delete or file your old and read messages so as to keep your system fast and efficient. Do your
filing and deleting regularly.
9. Take pride in your message.
When composing on screen, it is easy to allow sentences to become very long. Try to keep
sentences short and simple, and check your syntax. The more pride you take in your message
composition, the more successful you will be in being understood.
10. Do pick up the telephone now and again.
Remember, it’s good to talk!. Try to communicate the person before you.
