Conclusions
Do I really need to send an email?
If you have not learned anything else from this book, you should remember this. Next time you click on your trusty “New Message” button, think about:
- Do I really need to send an email?
- Do I really need to send it right now?
- Do I really need to send this mail to everyone?
Chances are you can avoid many of the anti-patterns presented in this book if you learn when it is a really great idea to answer no to such questions.
If you are convinced the email is ready to go, breathe and think about:
- Do I really need to squeeze so many topics into one message?
- Did I forget to reply to some of the issues raised in the previous message?
- Should I maybe give them a quick call to resolve the matter right away instead of hopelessly resending the message once again?
When in doubt, save it as a draft, do not send it (yet) and revise it after a good night sleep the next morning. If you are still in doubt, ask a colleague for feedback about your message content and style, but please – don’t do it over email, get up and go talk to them.
@JustSendAnEmail
We hope you have enjoyed reading about email anti-patterns as much as we have writing about them in this book and that you will consider leaving a (virtual) copy on the desk of your friends and colleagues, in case you would like to drop them a hint on how to improve their email life.
You can also send them an email with a link to the email anti-patterns website where you can find a short summary of every anti-pattern described in this book.
Follow us on twitter @JustSendAnEmail if you would like know when we add more email anti-patterns to the collection.