Escape from Email Hell: A Simple Change to Work Faster, Save Time and Angst

[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications]  It’s crunch time. You’re working on deadline, wrapping up an important communication for an important client, and you know that one nugget of new information you need to include is somewhere deep in your email inbox. You’re sure it was in the thread you had with your client team, so you start furiously scrolling, searching email subject lines. The problem is, the whole thread looks something like this:

RE: Important revisions to our Strategic Communications Plan

RE: RE: Important revisions to our Strategic Communications Plan

FW: RE: RE: Important revisions to our Strategic Communications Plan

RE: FW: RE: RE: Important revisions to our Strategic Communications Plan

You get the idea. Now fess up, you’ve got email threads like this as long as your arm clogging up your inbox right now, right? Unless you suddenly remember a keyword you can search on, finding that nugget you need is more like finding a needle in a haystack. Your deadline will close in quickly if you need to frantically open and re-read dozens of old emails.

PROBLEM: We’re all too quick to hit “reply all” when we’re in the heat of the moment communicating in a group email thread.

SOLUTION: Before you hit “reply all,” take a few seconds to write a new subject line that uses key words contained in your reply.

Using key words in your subject line that “tease” the content of your e-mail will

• Quickly communicate new, important information
• Make your communication stand out from the clutter of an overstuffed inbox
• Help all the email recipients in the chain know that they’re getting feedback on this new material when the “reply all” responses start to circulate
• Save everyone time and angst when they (or you) need to go back later to search for specific content

Before you send your next reply, particularly in the middle of a ponderous e-mail chain, ask yourself a question: What’s the one thing people reading my email reply need to know? Overwrite the subject line of the chain with your new nugget:  “New Crisis Response Team Member in Plan.” “Board Chair Reaction to Plan.” “New Messages for Crisis Scenarios in Plan.” You get the idea.

And if your work team starts bouncing “reply all” messages with your new subject line, the next time you chime in, change the subject line again. And again. When time is of the essence in a crisis, every second counts – and those seconds will turn into frustrating minutes when the important information you know you need is buried somewhere deep in your email inbox.