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One minute rule for email.

Immediate response or an acknowledgement accompanied with a followup is one of the most powerful and influential arrow in managers quiver when used persistently. Everyone appreciates instant response, even if it’s just to know the delay to their request.

When a new message arrives, pre-read it and in less then one minute, decide whether to: reply, delegate, archive, delete or (very rarely mark unread to read later).

If it takes less then one minute to reply, then reply immediately and archive it. Don’t let it sit in your inbox for future. If you don’t reply, its going to take more effort letting it hover around your mind and being constantly reminded that you need to reply. Pick off easy ones, if you can retire an email with a one to two line response, do it now and get it over with.

If you cannot respond to an email promptly, at the very least email back confirming your receipt and when the sender can expect your response.

Write less, almost all of your emails don’t need to be epic literature. Get better at just keeping the conversation moving by responding quickly and with short actions in the reply. Ask for more information, in-person followup, investigation / research, pose a question, or just say “I don’t know.” If you need to do additional work to reply to your note, then state exactly that. Be very clear with timelines and next steps, it can set the right expectation, specially as senders are often more disconnected then you are.

If you absolutely must have to write more then a paragraph, then put the meat of your e-mail in the first and second paragraphs. Remember, while you are forced to write more, your recipients are not forced to read it. Many people never read past the first paragraph, and very few people read past the third.

Remember, writing fast and less does not mean that you should write elliptically or bypass standard grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. A well written message can and should be as concise as possible to save you and your recipients time.