If you must use Microsoft Outlook, then take the time to set it up properly. It’ll make your email sparkle. Good, text-based email is still the most effective use of the medium. Laying out and structuring your email takes about the same level of care as hand writing a letter.

My loyal subjects!
Without doubt, the subject field in your email messages is the most important. Most people, most of the time, scan their email by checking the subjects of new messages and dealing first with those that are apparently important, interesting etc.

You what? You didn’t write a subject? Well… why’d you expect me to read that?

Time spent crafting a subject will be saved: less written text is needed; and, furthermore, your recipients will appreciate your effort, further improving the communicative relationship between you.

No reply?
Should I reply to all mail? While this decision can be made in terms of your own needs and priorities (ie, if you are busy you may choose not to reply), it is more ethical and efficient to make the decision based on your reading of the needs and expectations of the person who originally sent you the message.

Moreover, you may wish to turn this experience around and consider how you can write your own email messages so that, without being heavy handed, you make it clear to your addressees whether they need to reply or not. Such thought may lead you to signing one-way messages with a brief ‘no need to reply unless necessary’; or may lead to more subtle forms of ‘cueing’.

For example, imagine you receive an email requesting a meeting at a particular time and place; you reply, confirming the time and place, saying “see you then!”, thus implying that you require no further correspondence. You could even write this in the subject, leaving nothing in the message body.

… Use quoting sensibly. Remember that you can always edit the quoted text. You can delete it (or parts of it) if you don’t want it to be sent back. You decide if you want to quote: if in doubt, use less than was originally sent to you. Ask yourself if the person needs to read in full what they sent you, or just needs a few select quotes - delete the rest and, if you want to indicate you’ve done this thoughtfully write [snip] or [del] or even the old … to show you have consciously edited the original message.

Rural Mail,
by MilkaWay.

Because email messages remain, largely, plain text (without formatting), good email communications demand:

• white space. The spaces between words and paragraphs are precious tools in enabling the eye to discern the structure and content of a document: email messages are no different. Use:
• lots of short paragraphs
• extra white space to create ‘blocks’ of related text
• appropriate (limited) use of capitals (ALL CAPS ARE HARD TO READ)

Attachments are well handled when the sender and receiver both have compatible programs. As the sender, make it obvious that there is/are attachments and what their purpose is. As the receiver, reply with acknowledgement of dealing with the attachments.

Managing mass mail is something many people fail dismally at, me included. One strategy I’ve adapted came to me from the ideas of:

• how Canon digital camera software organises images/footage into folders by shooting date.
• how I seem to be updating my resume so often and like to read the date from the file-name

A lot of the email I deal with is relevant for a limited time, and I have a folder created for this period. When the period is over, it’s time to delete and/or archive the folder.

How about a folder for each recipient? That’s pretty useless if your email program has a fast way of searching for people’s names/email address. Often we remember who wrote the message anyway, but details of the message content is what we need to review.

Some good categorisation strategies for folders:

• projects or ongoing tasks in which you are engaged that have specific boundaries (people, time, results)
• information persistence: will you need the information in the mail messages again and again, or just occasionally, or never again
• function of the email messages for you: are they informative; do they ask you to act?
• types of information involved

The key decision you are making is What is the primary quality or character of this email? Then group together emails that have like qualities. The primary quality will change from time to time, requiring you to move the email to a different place.