January 2007 Archives

In the previously published essay, I took the position that quite often you don't have to reply to an email you receive. In fact, while it's frequently a knee-jerk reaction to reply - even if only to agree with someone - it's also frequently the wrong thing to do and simply clutters up everyone's inboxes and wastes your time and theirs.

That essay closed with a simple little statement:

So if you need a selfish argument, it's that only replying appropriately will, as a side effect, also reduce the amount of email you need to deal with as well.

Here's the gem hidden in that statement: it's not just about replies.