Nowadays, emails are now the preferred way for businesses to communicate. Like text, it is easy to make and arrives immediately to recipients. However, it lacks the depth that disables its recipients from getting the full message you want to convey, which is not the case for face-to-face discussions. Because of this, we tend to pick up crazy email habits to try to deliver our entire thought that everyone finds annoying to deal with.

If you want to avoid these email habits, here are the 6 email habits that you should avoid to prevent driving people crazy when they receive your email and how to correct it:

1. Hanging Questions

This email habit involves emails that include a question or request requiring a follow-up, but instead, you replied “K” or “Ok”. When people receive your email, they will be annoyed about how they can respond or wonder if you understand it.

A great tip to reduce these hanging questions is to send a brief email of all the things you want to say and when you need a reply if needed.

2. Wrong Medium

Sometimes, particular messages are suited for other types of communication mediums. Emails are ideal for direct and anything non-time-sensitive. Meanwhile, if you need to discuss a topic in detail or simply wish to speak to someone in real-time, it is best to use the phone or speak to them in person. Using emails for conversations or discussions can get annoying and slow, disrupting the discussion flow.

Before sending an email, make sure your message is not time-sensitive, and it will not cause a back and forth discussion. If it is, stick to phone or in-person conversations.

3. Sending Urgent Requests Via Email

As mentioned above, emails are ideal for any non-time-sensitive topics or requests. If you send someone an urgent request through an email, there will be people who may not pick up the urgency of your message or see it in time.

If your message requires an immediate response, contact your recipient by phone or go to them directly.

4. Rambling Emails

Some people tend to send long and winding emails, which can get very annoying to skim through and understand. Sometimes, these emails don’t even have the correct information the recipient needs.

If you can go off on a tangent when writing emails, make sure to state why you are emailing in the first part of the email.

5. Same Subject Line But Different Topic

As mentioned above, emails are not made for constant exchanges, which are often time-sensitive in nature. Sometimes, if you reply to an email about a specific topic, you may think of another thing to ask the recipient, even if it is not related to the main topic the email is for.

If you want to talk about something else, make sure to make a different email with that topic as the subject.

6. Attachments Only

Are you sending someone a file attachment? If that is a yes, you may be urged to leave the body of the email blank in the belief that your recipient will already get your message through your attachment. It is best to avoid this because you are giving them extra work to know why you are sending the attachment in the first place.

When sending attachments, please write a brief description of the attachment, so your recipient knows what it is for.

Emails will be here to stay, and if you want these emails to make a difference in your discussions and work, you must practice good email habits that people will appreciate. Take some time to look at the type of email habit you have and if your email habit is one of these six, try changing it with the tips we listed. You will notice a difference in how people reply to your emails and get things done more efficiently.

So tell me what irks you when others email you?

Want to be productive at work and go home on time? Check out these articles to help you to achieve that goal:
How to Use Your Morning Commute to Be Productive?
Being Productive @ Work: What Are The 5 Time Wasting Things You Do At Your Desk
Staying Productive as a Freelancer

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