So one of my co-workers was just telling me about a woman who, in a most rebellious mood, elected to boycott internal e-mailing for 30 full days. After her personal campaign, she said “Our communications are better, projects are moving faster and my relationships with my direct reports have improved.”
What a concept!
I am both a victim and a villain in the world of internal e-mailing. At least once a day, I receive e-mails that probably took close to 10 times longer to write than they would if they were spoken.
Sounds terrible, obnoxious and silly, right? But I do it too! Without wasting even more time going back and counting all the worthless e-mails I sent today, I’m going to go ahead and say I sent eight – at a minimum. Just yesterday, I sent an e-mail to my two cubicle-mates asking them for their input on something, despite the fact that I could literally smack one of them in the back of the head if I wanted.
Why?! Why do I do this? I’m a communication professional. I know how to communicate – both written and spoken. Why do my actions show otherwise?
While I do feel that internal e-mails do serve a purpose when it comes to reminders and re-caps, this article opened my eyes to the uncanny amount of unnecessary e-mails I send on a regular basis.
I don’t like it. I don’t want to do it. I’m going to do better for myself. I’m going to do better for my clients. So this is a personal testament to send fewer e-mails and have more face-to-face conversations. MARK MY WORDS!!!
Oh yea…and you should do it, too!