{"id":445,"date":"2008-04-09T13:20:18","date_gmt":"2008-04-09T17:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/the-email-habits-that-make-people-hate-you\/"},"modified":"2013-08-16T11:37:45","modified_gmt":"2013-08-16T19:37:45","slug":"the-email-habits-that-make-people-hate-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/the-email-habits-that-make-people-hate-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The Email Habits That Make People Hate You"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Email is a great tool if used properly. Unfortunately, that\u2019s a big “if”. I\u2019ve written this list to compile what I feel are the worst misuses of email. Hopefully you aren\u2019t an offender, but if you are, consider yourself warned. I won\u2019t be coming after you, but some of your friends might.<\/p>\n

Violation #1 – Not Responding to Emails that Need Replies<\/h2>\n

If I ask for a response, give me a response! If I don\u2019t get a reply back to my email, even if you are just writing to say you can\u2019t help me, I\u2019ll think my message wasn\u2019t read at all. With overzealous spam filters and email gremlins, it isn\u2019t uncommon for mail to hit the trash before it is read.<\/p>\n

I could never understand people who commit this crime, but some plausible reasons (but not excuses) for not replying to obvious requests include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t have the time.<\/li>\n
  2. Can\u2019t help\/don\u2019t know the answer.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t know the answer or have the information yet.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first is a case of laziness. It takes 15 seconds to write a reply to an email, even if it just states that you got their message but can\u2019t reply. Letting the person know you don\u2019t have time to reply is better than ignoring them entirely.<\/p>\n

    With the second case and third cases you should still send an email, even if you can\u2019t give a meaningful response. Just a short note to let them know that you read their message. If you can\u2019t answer, tell them. It will save the wait and let that person ask someone else. If you can\u2019t answer now, give an estimated time when you might be able to reply.
    \n<\/p>\n

    Violation #2 – Sending Emails Without a Point<\/h2>\n

    I probably get a few dozen emails a day. Even at this relatively low level, I still scan my messages looking to categorize them for a response. If the person you\u2019re emailing gets 100+ messages a day, they probably pay even less attention to individual mail items.<\/p>\n

    Because I can\u2019t spend all day reading email, I hate receiving emails that aren\u2019t clear on their purpose. For myself, I automatically group all my email into a several categories:<\/p>\n