E-mail Organizing: 10 Tips for Sending Quality Messages

I like just about everyone that I speak with am spending lots of time organizing my e-mail. By processing, I am referring to reviewing, responding and filing messages.  As I am trying to be more productive and optimize my e-mail time, I have started to apply the following strategy when processing my mail.  Not only does this improve my efficiency but hopefully it will also have a positive impact on those receiving messages from me.

Here my 10 email organization tips for sending quality messages and improving productivity:

1. One of my top email organization tips to improve productivity is to structure messages so that they are both clear and concise.
2. Limit the e-mail to one subject.
3. Get right to the point in the body of the e-mail by clearly defining the reason for the e-mail.
4. Use an easy to read format such as bullets or short paragraphs as you detail all relevant background information.
5. Clarify any expected next steps at the end of your message.
6. If there is information that is needed, be sure that your questions are very specific and number them.
7. Make the subject line specific.  Sometimes the entire message can be communicated in the subject line.
8. Only include your signature in the initial message but not in all subsequent messages.
9. If the subject changes along the way, continue to use the same e-mail thread but edit the subject line accordingly.
10. Include a greeting in the initial message but not necessarily in all subsequent messages.

Begin implementing these email organization tips to maximize your productivity and minimize the time spent processing email.