Tip of the Week: Beware of “assignment emails”
(www.myorganizedbiz.com) - Have you found yourself grousing about email lately? It seems like everyone I talk to is overwhelmed with the volume and incessant nature of it.
If you’re bending under the load, beware of the lurking kind of email that you get and don’t even know it. It’s the kind of message that stays in your Inbox for weeks on end. You might have a star by it. And it. won’t. go. away.
Today’s tip of the week: Look out for “assignment emails.”
This type of message requires more than just a simple reply. Instead, you get an email that has the audacity to add to your workload.
Some examples:
- A cohort emails you and asks if you’ll write a testimonial for their new program.
- A friend asks you to read their latest thing and tell them what you think of it.
- Someone asks you to write a guest blog about a topic you’ll need to research.
In all of these cases, the message in the email requests that you do something, in other words, an email with an assignment embedded in it.
What to do?
1. Start to recognize when you get them. If you can easily fritter away a few hours answering email - without ever getting to your own work - you’re getting a lot of assignment emails. Start to notice whether you’re doing work you need and want to - or if you’re bouncing around doing other people’s assignments.
2. Determine whether you have all the details. If someone asks you to do something, you must have all the details before you can say yes. If they haven’t included the who-what-when-where-why and how, send a reply requesting when it’s needed by, how much detail they want, and other essential info.
This does three things: It communicates your caring for the person who sent it. It helps establish parameters for the agreement. It also buys you a little time so you can get back to doing your own work.
3. Ask yourself if it’s something you actually need to do. Once you have a reply with all the specifics, you can decide if it’s something you want to do and are able to complete within the timeframe.
Bringing awareness to emailed messages can cut down on your frustration and overwhelm. Remember that you’re your own boss first.
Do you get assigment emails? How do you like to handle them?
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POSTED IN: Communication, Tip of the Week
2 opinions for Tip of the Week: Beware of “assignment emails”
Wick-edly Sent Scented Candle Co.
Mar 16, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Thanks for posting this, I have pages of emails that I don’t know what to do with–just yet. I can’t delete them, and if I put them in the folder I’m afraid I’ll forget them (which has happened).
Jennifer Hofmann
Mar 18, 2008 at 11:59 am
Thanks for the comment, Wick-ed!
You’re not alone in the habit of keeping emails front-and-center as a reminder system. Lots of people do this.
Do you find they get invisible over time? That’s want I noticed for myself. You might consider taking the task implied from the email and putting it on your actual to-do list.
For example, if someone send you something to read and you don’t have time. Write “read the thing Martha sent me” in your to do list as a reminder, then put the original email in your archives (and look it up when you need it).
I’ve found doing this both removes the visual clutter in your Inbox and increases the likelihood of actually completing the task.
How does that sound to you?
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