The reply all email function can quickly fill up your inbox. Simply reading all of the replies that come from a group message can take up a lot of your productive time.
In this episode of our Productivity at Work series, we talk about how many have become trained to automatically send a reply to a group message, even if they don’t have anything to add to the discussion. You’ll learn why this habit started and how you can help your team break the reply all addiction.
Ken Okel’s Productivity at Work video series is designed to make you more effective on the job. Every week, you’ll learn a new, easy to understand tip that you can use right away.
What Productivity Questions Does This Video Answer?
- How can I spend less time responding to email?
- Do I have to respond or hit reply all to a group email?
- How do I get less email?
- Where can I find email tips for business?
Video Transcript
Just because you receive a group email doesn’t mean you have to respond to it. Maybe it’s happened to you. You step away from your desk for just a few minutes and during that time a group email message was sent.
The messages from the CEO and is not necessarily looking for a lot of feedback. However, everyone has decided to throw their own two cents.
As a result, when you get back to your desk, there’s 20 different replies to the same message. And guess what? Most of them are adding to the conversation.
Here’s the problem: People sometimes feel compelled to respond to a group email, even when there’s no need to. They’ll say things like, “Sounds good. Make sense. Rock on Bossman.”
It’s good to let people know that you got the message but let’s face it, in today’s world where we have desktops and mobile devices, it’s hard not to get an email message.
More likely than not, you’re going to receive it, where 10-15 years ago it might not of been that certain. If you don’t have anything to add to the email conversation, that’s okay.
Simply receiving the information and carrying it out should be more than adequate.
Talk to everyone in your organization about this policy. Make an agreement about whether you should reply, just for the sake of applying, or perhaps save everyone’s time and limit replies only to things that add to the conversation. Especially, when someone was just conveying information was not looking for a string of responses
About Ken Okel
Ken Okel works with leaders and organizations to boost productivity, performance, and profits. At conferences, conventions, and company meetings, he engages audiences with new ways to maximize their time at work. To see a sample of his keynote and workshop presentations, go to the Ken Okel Video Page.
