Email messaging is a vital part of modern-day jobs. Whereas people used to communicate strictly via phone or in-person meetings, email has become modern professionals’ go-to communication method of choice. Yet, no matter how many years you’ve spent emailing colleagues and business partners, you might be making a few errors when getting in touch with your professional contacts. Below are 3 practices you should avoid making in the office – or the home office.
Emails that are too long.
Emails are designed to keep you in the loop with partners and peers – something that often doesn’t necessitate long paragraphs of text. Yet, many of us make the mistake of firing off long, rambling, oftentimes confusing email messages that would be best delivered as a phone call or face-to-face conversation. Not to mention, many modern professionals simply don’t have the time to read long emails. Play it safe by keeping your message short and resorting to another method of communication if your message is longer or more detailed.
Emails containing one word.
Imagine this: you receive an email from your boss reminding you about a deadline. Though your boss didn’t explicitly ask for a response, you feel compelled to send back a quick “Okay” or “Thanks.” Does this sound familiar? To appear engaged with our jobs, many of us fire off short, sometimes one-word responses, usually to indicate that a message was received. But, with so many of us being inundated with emails on the daily basis, it’s important that you ask yourself if that one-word response is necessary, or if it’s just another email that your boss or coworker must clear from their inbox.
Emails that are sent or responded to after hours.
These days, everyone has their smartphones and personal devices within arm’s reach. Therefore, any out-of-office emails you may send late at night or on the weekends will likely be seen immediately by your coworkers – and this isn’t always a good thing. With so many people struggling to balance their home and work lives right now, the last thing you want is to assign a false sense of urgency to routine emails and stress out co-workers in the process. Take a break from emails during off-hours, and if you feel the need to type out a work email, save it in your drafts folder to send on Monday morning.
Making our residents’ lives easier and more enjoyable?is a primary goal of ours at Oxford at Lake View Apartments in Corinth, Texas. We hope that these new ideas add convenience to your day-to-day routine!