Dear Reader,

I was looking back at one of my first posts dealing with emails: http://www.theemissionimpossible.com/email-flow-lenses-analysis-part-two/

Since I have not followed up with more tips to deal with email and reach the “inbox zero Nirvana”, I decided it was about time to say something more.

So, to give you one quick tip, let’s imagine you are skimming through your inbox and you find an email you have decided not to delete or archive immediately. What would your best next move be?

Hit REPLY ALL without even blinking and write: “Hello, (enter)”

Let me pause for a second and remind you that human psyche likes action.

“Motion creates emotion.”

Tony Robbins

Do you want some examples? Help yourself:

  • Putting on your running shoes or driving to the gym are the breakthroughs that start your workout. Personally, I swear for the first half mile of every run I do, but then I can go on for ten more miles in a state of complete relaxation
  • Typing the first words of a new post get me into writing at least half of it
  • Picking up a book from your nightstand and forcing yourself through one or two pages leads you to that I-can’t-put-it-down feeling
  • Starting to wash your dishes, do laundry or other chores is the hardest part: after that, your house is clean in no time.

Back to the matter at hand, can you picture the result in your mind? Without even noticing it, you will be in front of a blinking cursor just under the word “Hello”, your hands ready on the keyboard.

Now you are naturally compelled to think at least about the next three points:

  • What should I write to that person? (Please note that “Nothing” is a legitimate answer, you can delete/archive the email and go to the next one. The point is that now you are forcing yourself to think a little bit harder about your next move)
  • Should I remove/add people from/to the conversation?
  • What is the best structure for the content I’m going to put in?

Don’t close the message, don’t put it down! Start with a few words and the rest will follow.

You are allowed to save it for later only if you need more pieces of information to reply: add the task to get that info to your to-do list and keep the draft for later.

My experience is that it is better to reply to people even with incomplete answers rather than postponing it. I think that the two main reasons for this are the fact that: one, you keep the conversation going even just by saying “will follow up later”, strengthening the bond with your correspondent. Second, you take that email out of your inbox so that it can’t become one of the “oh my God yet another unfinished tasks” that create anguish every time your eyes fall on it.

So, to summarise, the hard and fast rule goes like this:

  1. In front of a message whose destiny you are uncertain about, hit “Reply all” and immediately type “Hello, (enter)”
  2. Watch the blank page and let your natural instinct, put into action by typing, take control of the situation
  3. Voilà, the email almost writes itself!

The more you do it, the less frightening it will become, and you will be blazing through your inbox in no time!

Until next time,

Hello,

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