WEBVTT - The more you send

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that the more email you send, the more

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<v Speaker 1>you are likely to get. So if you wish to

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<v Speaker 1>receive fewer messages, try sending fewer messages and see what happens.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you have not historically sent holiday cards and

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<v Speaker 1>you start sending them some year, you will soon find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself getting way more cards in the mail than you

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<v Speaker 1>ever have before. People who receive a card from you

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<v Speaker 1>will reciprocate, and people who wanted to send a card

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<v Speaker 1>to you already will now have your correct address, so

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<v Speaker 1>their desire to send a card will translate pretty directly

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<v Speaker 1>into an invalid hope in your mailbox for holiday cards.

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<v Speaker 1>It can be delightful to realize that the more you send,

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<v Speaker 1>the more you will get, but it is also true

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<v Speaker 1>that the more email you send, the more you get,

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<v Speaker 1>and in this case you might not be quite so delighted.

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<v Speaker 1>Responding to an email almost always elicits another response, and

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<v Speaker 1>when you show people that you are the kind of

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<v Speaker 1>person who responds quickly to email, people may be more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to send you emails asking for quick input on

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<v Speaker 1>individual things rather than triaging or consolidating their messages. I

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<v Speaker 1>once saw a time log from a woman who was

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<v Speaker 1>trying to get down to inbox zero, that is IBZ

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<v Speaker 1>on her log. Each entry on her log had a

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<v Speaker 1>number as she processed her messages ibz three hundred, ibz

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<v Speaker 1>two seventy five, ibz two fifty. She got herself all

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<v Speaker 1>the way down into the double digits. And then what

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<v Speaker 1>do you think happened? All those people she responded to

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<v Speaker 1>on the way down sent back up their own messages.

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<v Speaker 1>She was right where she was before. So how do

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<v Speaker 1>you avoid the exponential increase in emails? First of all,

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<v Speaker 1>with email, aim to move quickly to a resolution. Try

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<v Speaker 1>to avoid a situation where a person needs to respond. Okay, So,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, if you need to update your boss on

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<v Speaker 1>the next step of a project, you could say, unless

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<v Speaker 1>you let me know otherwise, I will plan to reach

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<v Speaker 1>out to John this afternoon to make that change. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are confident you know what needs to be done,

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<v Speaker 1>don't ask how to respond, and don't ask whether the

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<v Speaker 1>response you proposed is all right. Just let the person

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<v Speaker 1>know what you plan to do and on what timeframe.

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<v Speaker 1>If they want a weigh in, they know the guidance

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<v Speaker 1>is welcome and they know they need to contact you

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<v Speaker 1>sooner rather than later. Or maybe you want to trust

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<v Speaker 1>the other person to respond in the way that they

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<v Speaker 1>see fit without further email from you. Say so, I

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<v Speaker 1>support whichever option you recommend. Please update me on the

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<v Speaker 1>plans when they're finalized. You can also avoid a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of emails if you empower others systematically. If your direct

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<v Speaker 1>reports email you frequently for guidance or approval on things,

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<v Speaker 1>that is a sign that you may need to be

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<v Speaker 1>more clear about your vision for a project and what

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<v Speaker 1>needs your input and what really doesn't. Many emails can

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<v Speaker 1>also be avoided all together with a live conversation. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you and your boss will be in the same

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<v Speaker 1>meeting later in the day, you probably don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>email her questions before that. You can ask her life

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<v Speaker 1>right before the meeting starts. This works with zoom as well.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're going to be talking with someone, make a

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<v Speaker 1>list of things to discuss and discuss them live the

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<v Speaker 1>next time you see each other, and don't send them

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<v Speaker 1>one by one in emails. If you don't have a

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<v Speaker 1>conversation coming up, but emailing would require a long message

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<v Speaker 1>that would probably elicit a long response. Consider finding a

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<v Speaker 1>time to talk live, whether that involves sticking your head

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<v Speaker 1>in a colleague's office or scheduling a meeting. A live

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<v Speaker 1>conversation probably will take less time and be more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to lead to alignment. One last strategy to consider process

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<v Speaker 1>your email less frequently. People sometimes see email as a

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<v Speaker 1>game of hot potato. They want to get the project

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<v Speaker 1>out of their own hands, so they email someone and

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<v Speaker 1>feel they don't have to deal with it again until

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<v Speaker 1>the person emails them back. If you process your emails

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<v Speaker 1>just a few times a day instead of continuously, in general,

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<v Speaker 1>the hot potato will come back to you less often.

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<v Speaker 1>Some email is inevitable, but if you wish you received

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<v Speaker 1>fewer emails, you can probably turn the volume down a

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<v Speaker 1>bit by decreasing the volume you send. And since email

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<v Speaker 1>tends to be a tool to do your job, not

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<v Speaker 1>your actual job itself, this is probably a good thing

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<v Speaker 1>in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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