Reduce Recurring Return Mails With If-Then Statements
If you’re constantly getting sucked into long, ping-pong-style e-mails, using if-then operators can save you time.
Treating email as a chat client can take a long time and fill your inbox quickly. If you want to cut back on conversations, Asian Efficiency’s Mike Schmitz recommends anticipating any problems or questions that may arise in your initial letter. This is easy to do with if-then statements. Schmitz gives an example:
Hi Thanh,
Please let me know what you think of this new design. If you don’t like this, then let me know what improvements or changes you would like to make. If you like it, then hand it over to Zach so he can start using it in his documents.
You can use if-then statements to customize meeting times more efficiently, suggest backup plans when things go wrong, and add explanations so you get fewer emails. You may not be able to anticipate all possible problems, but it is better to take the initiative.
4 Tips for Quitting Email Ping Pong | Asian efficiency