Composing emails and other short messages is a necessary part of being a professional, and a task that even the best writers find difficult. Part of learning to manage these tasks in order to write them well and quickly means developing good writing habits.
Consider these tips to help you develop good email composing habits:
- Set aside time to read and respond to emails, but try to do so quickly. If you find that incoming emails detract from your ability to get work done, limit your access to your email client during certain periods of time, as long as there are other ways to still contact you in the case of emergencies.
- Use your email client to help organize your emails in whatever way makes sense to you. If an email can't be taken care of immediately, create a folder for emails that need special attention and return to it daily to address them. Don't let important emails get buried among a slew of incoming junk mail.
- Never send anything you will regret having put in writing, or that is simply unfinished or ineffective. Before you hit "Send," ask yourself these questions:
- Have I included all relevant details in my message?
- Have I made it easy for the reader to respond to my email (by providing relevant links, attachments, etc.)?
- Have I organized and formatted my message to maximize readability?
- Have I established a clear call to action?
- Have I said anything that I might regret saying, or that I would be unwilling to say to someone in person? Would I be okay with this email being shared with my fellow coworkers? Is there anything in it that readers might consider mean or unethical?
- While they may seem fleeting, emails can last forever on a server. Depending on where you work, they might be included in legal requests for information, or can become public record. Your workplace may also have restrictions about the types of information that can be shared via email, and there may be different rules for what can be sent to others within a company, versus those outside your company. Make sure to educate yourself about expectations and conventions at each workplace or community you join.
Once you make writing effective emails a conscious habit, and give yourself a chance to quickly review emails before you send them, you'll likely find it easier to write them quickly and with more confidence. The final choices you make should be shaped by your knowledge of the context you are in, which includes your purpose and audience. If any normal convention doesn't make sense due to the context you are in, trust yourself to make a decision that is responsive to the needs of the situation. Good luck in your email writing!
