Answering emails

So, you open your inbox and there’s 30 emails (unread).

Which do you answer first?

As far as I see it the answers are as follows:

• The most recent – makes no sense to people waiting.
• The oldest – that’s polite but is there any use to you or to them or has it expired?
• The most important – that makes sense but how do you categorise that?
• The biggest opportunity – but if you do that you leave people waiting and the work piles up.
• The biggest opportunity to help – someone’s asking for help and they’re in a hurry, do you help them?

30 years ago, no one had any of these questions to answer.

The mail arrived on their desk and they opened it with a letter opener that someone had bought them when they first got their job 15 years ago because they knew they would be in the same place for a long time.

It’s so different now, so many decisions to make every day.

Blog Post Number - 3266