From the course: Time Management Tips

When someone doesn't respond to your email

From the course: Time Management Tips

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When someone doesn't respond to your email

- It can be very frustrating and occasionally time consuming and distracting when someone doesn't respond to your email. I'm referring to expected emails from people you know and work with, not unsolicited emails. You're trying to get work done, you need their response, and they're not getting back to you. What should you do in this situation? First, I recommend that you put yourself in the other person's shoes. See their workday from their perspective. Most people are out of control with their time. When I speak around the world, I conduct hundreds of informal surveys from the stage. I find that about 2% of people feel that they are actually in control of their time. Everyone else to some degree feels frustration and annoyance with time management. Odds are, the person that you emailed hasn't even seen the email yet or saw it quickly and then got distracted by something else. With that in mind, we can send a gentle reminder, something like forwarding the email again and asking, "Hey, have you had a chance to take a look at this email? "I know now things can get crazy. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss it." Put it in your own language in a way that you are comfortable with. But the idea is you're trying to help them. You're not trying to nag them. Also, take a look at your original message. If you sent someone a wall of text, you are decreasing the likelihood that anyone is going to reply. Instead, we need to break down larger emails into quick replies and quick responses. If, for some reason, we have to cover multiple concepts within one email, use bullet points or numbered bullet points. This way, the person can respond bullet by bullet to your questions. Make it as easy as possible for people to respond. Also, consider the timing at which you're sending these emails. For one obvious example, if you're sending an email to an accountant during a business tax season, you should expect one of two outcomes. A, they're not going to return your message quickly, or B, they're going to lose that message in the pile of all the other messages that are coming at them. I try to consider the time of day that my clients are least busy and send messages to them at that time. In my industry, Friday is a very effective time to reach out to people. Yours will likely be different. The more you consider things from their perspective, and the easier it is for them to respond, the stronger the likelihood that you'll receive a productive reply.

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