E-mail has changed the way we work, communicate and live – all within just the last couple of years. Yet, very few of us stop to think about times when we should not use e-mail.

“Would you carry a violin in a damp knapsack? Would you wrap your fiance’s birthday present in used cheesecloth? Would you mail your grandmother’s stemware in a paper bag?” That’s how Send: The Essential Guide to E-mail for Office and Home, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe, begins.

When I heard about the book, my first thoughts were: “I use e-mail all the time. I understand ‘netiquette.’ There’s nothing else I need to know about e-mail.”

I hope my significant other reads this column, because he’ll be happy to know that somewhere in print I am going to admit…I was wrong. Some of the stories in the book were interesting and surprising, and the authors made me stop and think. I’d like to share some of the key points as they apply to the kitchen and bath industry.

Time Efficiency

Everyone thinks e-mail is fast, so it must be efficient. But before you pat yourself on the back for using e-mail to be more efficient at work, ask yourself how often you check your e-mail during the day. Do you constantly stop what you’re doing and check your inbox?

I recently realized that I do just that. I’d constantly be putting the task at hand on hold to check my e-mail. It was a huge time drain because I was breaking my rhythm and concentration. So I made a conscious decision that, from now on, I would only check my e-mail a couple of times a day. I must say, it’s much more efficient.

I bring this up because, as the book says about e-mail, “We’re using it and overusing it and misusing it. E-mail is afflicted by the curse of the new.” E-mail is so simple, I think we’re all failing to stop to think about it. My goal for you by the end of this page is to get you to think about how efficiently you’re using e-mail.

I know what you’re thinking…you’re a reasonable person, you’re intelligent, this column still can’t possibly apply to you. Yet, due to the fact that e-mail is such a new communications medium, are you making mistakes you’re just not aware of?
I’m a big letter writer. My letters always have at least one sticker on the envelope, I love to buy fun stamps and I normally only use white envelopes for people I’m not really fond of. (Even my business envelopes are green!) The person receiving the sticker-laden envelope visually perceives a friendly message due to the brightness and fun on the outside of the envelope. Just via a glance, they know there’s a pretty slim chance that there’s going to be a bill or anything negative inside that envelope. Hence, they’re immediately receiving a visual clue from the sender.

E-mail doesn’t allow for that. As a result, right off the bat, it puts both the sender and the receiver at a disadvantage.