There seems to be evolving a “pre-COVID” and a “post-COVID” lens through which to see so many things in our world. A case in point for me is email. Back in the pre-COVID days, I wrote a post on how to write an email. Targeted mostly for students who have not cultivated a thorough understanding of email etiquette (though some adults would benefit), the post got some traction. While I would not dispute any of the points there, the post-COVID perspective within me wants to simplify. With our lives having turned so pervasively online over the last six months, reading a lengthy email or interfacing with my work world exclusively through the medium of email is painful. I received 206 emails yesterday, for example, and most of them were needing a meeting or a lengthy response better delivered in person (or through Zoom).

As such, I think that there may be a better way around this most of the time. I don’t know that we’ll ever get away from all emails containing lengthy bits of information (not just considering newsletters), but I think we would all benefit from focusing on the primary principle in emails being that messages are succinct and scannable.

After reflecting on a week’s worth of emails (and not just yesterday’s overwhelm), here are three primary email templates that I think we all should focus on (especially students within their communications):

Let’s schedule a meeting because the information I am giving you or need from you will take more than 2 minutes to explain and/or understand. Also, here is how to schedule a meeting with me (e.g. Calendly), and here is a specific date, time, and location where we both look to be free.
Here is the information you need or requested, or here is something that I am requesting; in either case, I think that what I am requesting will take less than two minutes to provide through email (so I am not requesting a meeting).
Thanks/appreciation.

I am told that I’m “old school” in that I prefer emails to have greetings and closings as well as proper punctuation, capitalization, and spelling, but even if they don’t contain these things, the efficiency of the above notes would help a lot.

Pretty straightforward! I’d love to hear others’ thoughts!