How to break free from back-and-forth emails

Introduction

Imagine email notifications flashing on your screen…again. And again. And again.

Each time, you hope it’s finally the info you need to end this back-and-forth email cycle. But it never is.

You know what this vicious cycle puts at stake – your time, focus, efficiency, and, most importantly productivity.

Being a manager, you just can’t afford it.

Let’s find out the ways to cut down on directionless email threads and build a culture where communication flows actively and sparingly.

But before that, you must know how emails just don’t cut it for modern workplace collaboration.

Why are back-and-forth emails bad?

Let’s be honest – emails have their place, but excessive emailing doesn’t. Do not forget the depth to which it can pull you in. And the moment you will realize it, it will be too late to escape the overwhelm.

According to a citation in Email Characteristics, Work Performance, and Distress Study – “Several studies have shown that frequent email interruptions and high connectivity can instigate work overload, time pressure, job dissatisfaction, work disengagement, stress and feelings like anger and sadness. (Barley et al., 2011; Derks et al., 2021; Jerejian et al., 2013; Mano and Mesch, 2010; Sonnentag et al., 2018; Ten Brummelhuis et al., 2012).“

Let’s look at how it impacts you and your workability:

1. Hidden time drain

High-volume emails are significant time eaters. You open your email inbox intending to come out of it quickly. But as you delve deeper, you see hours of hours gone by. The constant email influx disrupts your focus, stealing valuable time that otherwise would have gone into something essential and productive.

2. Impact on focus

Switching between emails and other tasks makes you easily lose sight of more substantial, meaningful tasks. Not only that, the constant interruption hinders deep work and even plagues your progression. This shift in attention causes lower-quality work and delayed task accomplishment.

3. Team communication woes

No doubt, email can deliver your words across distances, but do they claim to convey context and intention too? Definitely not. Why? Because it lacks the non-verbal cues that form a significant part of professional communication exchange. This can fan the fire of misunderstandings and miscommunications within teams.

4. Demotivation and frustration

With the already significant work on your tasks, the constant demand for your attention can potentially stall your projects. You may feel overwhelmed and experience burnout quickly.  This influx of messages turns into a never-ending loop in no time.

6 best practices to reduce endless email threads

If you often find yourself struggling to deal with endless email threads, it’s high time to bring it to a close.

Here are some effective ways to improve your email communication:

1. Consolidate information in an initial email

Begin with comprehensive details, no matter how trivial they may seem. Don’t leave any scope for wondering and speculating. Break down complex ideas, explain email history (if any), and avoid technical jargon to keep your communication crisp.

Draft your email with clarity and completeness, but never close a door permanently. Leave a clear pathway for further clarification.

2. Consider setting up a call or meeting

The moment you see an email trap becoming inefficient cut it down. Change your approach to a less-email-heavy strategy. Either hop on a call (if it’s a simple matter) or schedule a meeting (if it is complex) to clarify your concerns and resolve issues in real-time.

“People feel significantly more connected through voice-based media, but they have these fears about awkwardness that are pushing them towards text-based media,” – Amit Kumar, a McCombs School of Business assistant professor of marketing, co-author with Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago.

Learn effective email time management tips to spend less time on emails and limit your visits to your inbox

3. Prioritize instant text messaging

Emails lack the immediacy that faster communication methods like text messages and DMs provide. These methods become even more valuable when you don’t have time to jump on a call or meeting. Also, with the influx of the Gen Z workforce becoming dominant, even the biggest of leaders are adapting to new communication platforms.

Thierry Delaporte, the CEO of Wipro says, “They’re 25, they don’t care. They don’t go on their emails, they go on Snapchat, they go on all these things.” He even claims that he himself has started using Instagram and LinkedIn to communicate efficiently with his Gen Z staffers in conversation with the Daily Telegraph.

4. Use collaboration and project management software

According to a survey of more than 1,000 IT decision-makers, 51% of them prefer utilizing “real-time business chat apps” over email.

Use instant built-in chat and skip emails for swift communication with ProofHub

Use project management and collaboration tools like ProofHub, with its real-time online chat, you can avoid lengthening the string of replies. You can have one-on-one conversations, group chat rooms, and even discussions in one centralized platform.

Replacing emails with PM tools can enhance your collaboration efficiency and not seem cluttered or overwhelming.

5. Schedule response time

Sorting through a barrage of emails from morning to evening isn’t a good practice. Neither practical nor efficient. So, creating an appropriate response window is crucial to managing email risk. Do not stay 24/7 active in checking your email inbox. Set a particular time and duration for email checks. For better time management, set a reminder and schedule your emails.

6. Use 3-email rule

Being pulled apart between different things, resist yourself from drafting a quick email response. Instead, follow the 3- email rule in your email marketing strategy.  It is a productivity technique to reduce the number of email exchanges to 3. It means, that if you exceed 3 emails without reaching any resolution, take the conversation to some other medium.

Email etiquette for improved communication

Learning the undefined protocols of composing professional emails is crucial to reflect your professionalism in emails.

Let’s uncover all of them.

1. Keep it professional and concise

Do not go extravagant when writing emails. Be formal and precise when communicating with your teammates. Make sure to set a certain limit to characters and avoid fluff.

For example, you can write –

Could you please provide a detailed update on the current status of [specific project/task]? It would be helpful to understand the recent progress and any upcoming milestones or potential challenges.

Instead of

“What is the current task status?”

2. Crafting clear subject lines

A descriptive subject line increases the likelihood of your email being clicked. According to research by SuperOffice, 33% of email recipients consider the subject line before opening an email.

For example, using a subject line stating “ Require Feedback” is quite ambiguous. Instead replace it with “Request: Feedback on Marketing Proposal.” That’s much better and crisp.

3. Proofread your email

Make sure your emails are grammatical error-free. Any typos, punctuation errors, or inappropriate salutations, leave a negative impression on the recipient. Use spell-check features and do self-proofreading before hitting send.

❌ Incorrect: “The team’s performance has improved significantly however, there’s still room for growth.”

✅ Correct: “The team’s performance has improved significantly; however, there’s still room for growth.”

4. Confirm your recipient’s name

The biggest pillar of learning email etiquette is knowing your recipient. You lose credibility the moment you misspell your recipient’s name or write the wrong name. So, take two minutes out of your time to double-check your recipient’s name and ensure you spell it right.

For example,

• Michael as Micheal
• Sarah as Sara

5. End your emails with the right impression

Your email sign-off should be polite. Since it’s the last thing your recipient reads before closing it. Use a professional closing salutation followed by your full name and title.

Some professional  sign-offs include:

• Have a wonderful [day, weekend]
• Regards
• Best regards
• Thank you for your time

6. Be mindful of your email tone

While it is hard to communicate your tone across email, you should be considerate of your email tone. Avoid negative phrases, sarcasm, casual language, and emotional outbursts. Remember, emails lack non-verbal communication cues, increasing the chances of being misinterpreted and even getting offended.

Learn effective email project management tips to overpower email overload

Reasons for back-and-forth emails

Here are a few reasons why back-and-forth emails add unnecessary load to your workflow in the name of an effective communication method.

1. Lack of clarity

A poorly structured email with unclear subject lines and vague details can throw your focus out of the window – especially, while you’re already juggling countless tasks.

You have to spend additional time interpreting that message, understanding the context, or seeking clarification. This repetitive cycle disrupts your productive workflow and leads you to multiple rounds of clarification.

2. Missing context

An email where you have to fill in the gap is a clear-cut issue. For instance, when you are sent an email with no background information, you can not take informed action.

These kinds of emails send you on a context hunt or seek additional details, detracting you from focusing on strategic tasks. You need to piece together several pieces to move forward with the conversation.

3. Misuse of emails

While no doubt, emails form the backbone of office conversations. But long gone are the days when they proved their efficiency. Today, it has become more of a burdensome thing.

Unnecessary updates, greetings, or “FYI” emails, often clog the email inbox without providing value. I know it may sound counterintuitive, but requesting constant status updates or clarifications can also stifle your productivity.

Discover the best email productivity tools to reclaim your inbox

4. Unrealistic expectations

Entangling unrealistic expectations in email ping-pong is an open invite to conversation threading. Be it setting unrealistic deadlines, demands, or even immediate responses create a fuss about timeliness.

Amid multiple priorities and managing expectations,  these unrealistic demands can impose undue pressure and stress on the recipient. This havoc often leads to rushed decisions, strained relationships, and burnout.

5. Absence of email étiquettes

Unprofessional tone, mismatched expectations, emotional outbursts, and unprofessional tone –  are some of the major culprits that keep you stuck in the frustrating email loops.

All these issues, if not corrected, escalate. Establishing email etiquette guidelines can pull the email strings. It encourages professional communication practices into action to create a more collaborative environment.

6. Lack of immediate feedback

If you expect emails to be a convenient feedback mechanism, stop yourself right there. Why? Because you surely won’t enjoy losing into the email abyss. While minor delays are still bearable, a significant lag leads to strained quality and productivity.

The absence of real-time feedback can quickly turn into a problematic session. You will have to scroll through threads to look for feedback that was provided a while ago.

Struggling with email collaboration in remote project management? Get valuable strategies for overcoming challenges

Encourage a culture of efficient collaboration with ProofHub

Effective communication forms one of the strongest pillars of a successful organization.

Sending and responding to emails are considered productive initially. But modern workplace dynamic has raised questions on its efficiency.

To overcome this issue, you should incorporate a real-time project management and collaboration tool like ProofHub. It is a one-stop solution for all your project needs. From facilitating seamless communication to staying on top of project updates, it eliminates the need for email exchange.

Save your team discussions from turning into endless email threads with centralized exchange

Let’s break down what you can do with ProofHub:

• You can define clear project goals, roles, and communication protocols.
• You can see all project activity at a glance using Gantt charts and Kanban boards.
• You can keep everyone on the same page by creating shared understanding for everyone.
• You can ask quick questions or updates using real-time chat and provide feedback on digital assets using online proofing.
• You can draw your teammate’s attention to a particular task, discussion, or file using @mentions.
• You can keep project-related conversations organized and accessible in one location.
• You can remove the ambiguity from your team dynamics by assigning tasks, setting deadlines, and tracking progress.
• You can uncover bottlenecks and areas of improvement using insightful reporting features.
• You can save time and ensure consistency by using pre-defined templates. 

ProofHub is one of the smarter email alternatives that help streamline communication, boost productivity, and revolutionize your team collaboration

Note: If emails are your go-to tools and you can’t help using these, don’t worry. ProofHub’s email-in tasks allow you to add tasks, comments, and files from within the email. This means you can still get an email-like feel while using the comprehensive solution for your projects.

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