We are all drowning in work, and when we get irrelevant, inane, or poorly-written email it really stings.
Help me generate a practical list of actionable tips on "How to communicate with a really busy person".
Examples on from my own experience are
- never reply "thank you" to an email – if you are genuinely thankful, send a card. Otherwise, the most sincere thanks is letting their inbox stay empty for an extra 15 minutes
- send anything that can be answered by the secretary to the secretary – the administrative assistant knows exactly what the doctor needs to see, and can respond to many questions directly. You will get a faster answer, and the physician won't have to pay your attention tax
- one issue per email – since the inbox functions as a defacto "to do" list, don't put a long email with four different things you need in a single message ; make each one a message, and make them all succinct
- make the subject meaningful – the best email is the one you don't even need to open, because the subject says it all
- use (NNTR) in the subject – when you have to say something, but also don't need a reply back, put (NNTR) as the very first item in the subject. This tells the recipient that there is No Need To Respond, which is an emotional gift when the inbox is full.
What are yours?
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