Untangling the Inbox:
5 Small Email Tweaks for Smarter, Frictionless Comms
Chris Kennedy (he/him), Founder and Principal Untangler, Better Together Works Co.
Most email problems aren’t actually email problems - - they’re “I have no idea what you need from me” problems. We’re all trying to complete 30hrs worth of work in a 24hr block of time, we’re leaning into AI utilization wherever we can, however making a few adjustments to your emails could make things easier for you and your recipients.
Don’t Make People Decode Your Subject Line
My top recommendation: don’t make people decode your subject line. We’ve all received the ever-popular subject line ‘Quick question’ and thought to ourselves ‘this will likely neither be quick, nor be just one question’. Try including an action prompt, a “title” of what the email is about, and if applicable a deadline or follow up date.
Your subject line can tell the recipient what this is, what you need, and when you need it. When I’m sending work emails, I always lead with the client’s name, followed by an action prompt or meeting title, and then what’s “happening” in the email or what the deadline date is.
Price Is Right Inc.: Q3 Planning Meeting (August 21) - Recap & Next Steps
Family Feud Co.: ACTION REQUIRED - Contestant Participation Approvals
Put the Ask Before the Backstory
Next up, put the ask before the backstory. Earlier this year, I learned about crafting your emails (and any written documentation, really) utilizing Smart Brevity. Smart Brevity really is just the art of respecting someone’s time by getting straight to the point, without sounding cold. So, instead of burying your main message under paragraphs of pleasantries and context, you lead with the absolute most important takeaway right in the first sentence, so the reader instantly knows why it matters. From there, you strip out all the fluff, jargon, and filler words; organizing what’s left so it’s super easy to scan and digest in seconds. Ultimately, it’s about delivering maximum value in as few words as possible so people actually read and act on what you send them.
Starting with a warm and friendly salutation or opener is great - - I’m not saying to skip that; however, no one wants to read 6 paragraphs to figure out what the email is all about. So consider starting with your ask (‘Can you approve Option B by EOD Wednesday?’) and then give them the context.
Structure Your Emails for the Skimmers
If you know me, you know I can be a wordy person - - verbally, and in written form! - - so when I’m crafting an email, especially on a wordier day, I try to keep the following 5 points in order:
TL;dr - 1-2 sentences that briefly describe what the email is about, and what the ask is
Decision - what are the options to decide
Owner - who needs to make those decisions or who needs to complete those tasks, and I’m not afraid to @ reference them in the email, too, so it stands out really clearly for the skimmers
Due Date - I’ll even go as far as to include how completion should be submitted
Details - now you can get to the meat of your email
Be Intentional with TO: vs. CC:
While we’re talking about the initial creation of your email, let’s chat about To: and CC:, and using them intentionally. I’m going to go ahead and say what we’re all thinking: if 14 people are in the To: line, there’s a pretty good chance everyone is going to assume someone else will answer, and that email is never going to get addressed. When I’m crafting my emails, I keep the following 2 rules in mind:
TO: I need something from you
CC: You should know this is happening
If you’ve added me to the CC:, I’m going to scan the email quickly for my name or something important to me, and then I’m filing that email to get it out of my inbox. On the flip side, if you’ve included me in the To: line, I’m reading that email a lot slower, I’m taking in all the things, and I’m making note of any action items that need completing, to ensure they’re getting tasked out or completed by me.
Ditch "Thoughts?" and Leverage Schedule-Send
So now you’ve typed out all the things and you’re getting ready to sign off, and your fingers start to type ‘Thoughts?’. Instead, consider giving people a default, like ‘Unless there are objections by Friday, I’ll move forward with Option A’. Not every decision needs to become a meeting, nor does every email necessarily need a response - - especially if you’ve got a bunch of folks in the CC line and people start “reply[ing] all”. By including a default, you also potentially help reduce noise for everyone else’s inbox.
My last recommendation for turning your inbox from problem to success is utilizing schedule-send functionality - - especially for those non-urgent emails. This was something I started doing years ago when I switched careers to working remotely from home. So many of my team were across other time zones and I remembered what it was like to get text messages at all hours from my staff in my previous customer-facing role, and made a conscious effort to utilize schedule-send functionality whenever I could. It started with Slack, and I quickly started it with my emails as well; and one thing I’ve layered on is including - at the start of the message or email - that it is being scheduled to send and for what day/time for the recipient.
Scheduled send for Monday August 24 at 9am PDT.
I did this not only in hopes of others adopting the schedule-send functionality; I did it so the recipient would understand if I was referencing something that had evolved even further since originally crafting the message in the first place.
So there you have it - - my list of 5 tiny changes that’ll make it significantly easier for everyone around you to actually get work done. For you, they also mean fewer follow-ups, fewer unnecessary meetings, and less time trying to remember what exactly that email from Thursday last week was about.
