我从各种各样的人那里听到越来越多的抱怨，说人们不读他们的电子邮件。我知道我们每天收到太多的邮件——据繁荣媒体——普通上班族每天40接收电子邮件。我认为这是保守的。就我个人而言，我每天都会收到100多封邮件。虽然我们需要共同努力，减少我们收到（和发送）的电子邮件的数量，但我们阅读电子邮件是非常重要的，而不是只是粗略地浏览一下，而是要真正地阅读它们。

For those who don’t read all their emails – you are creating more work for others because they may be waiting for your response. 这将导致后续邮件,创造更多的电子邮件在你的收件箱,以及时间这些电子邮件的发送者跟踪,以及起草和发送跟进邮件。你也会因为不“了解”可能非常有价值的信息而让自己陷入困境，这可能会在会议上花费时间，当你要求别人解释邮件中概述的内容（你没有阅读）时。In addition, your lack of a response can be viewed as dismissive, making the person who sent the email feel like you don’t respect them or believe their needs or ask is important.

对于那些只看了一部分邮件的人来说——有多少次你发了一封有两三个问题的邮件，而对方只回复了第一个问题？这种情况之所以会发生，是因为人们每天都在忙着处理无数的电子邮件。然而，如果你没有花30秒的时间来阅读一封邮件，你可能会收到更多的后续邮件，这既会堵塞你的收件箱，也意味着你和发件人都要花更多的时间。我为那些不阅读所有邮件的人列出的原则同样适用于那些匆匆浏览邮件的人。

那么，什么是电子邮件的最佳实践呢？

• 读一个完整的电子邮件
• Respond as quickly as possible with all the required/requested information
• If you don’t have all the requested information, you should follow-up with the sender, noting when you will have that information
• 除非整个团队都需要你的回复，否则只回复发件人，以免堵塞其他人的收件箱
• File emails as soon as you have finished with them to keep your inbox as empty as possible

What about best practices for the sender:

• Don’t hesitate to pick-up the phone or swing by someone’s office whenever possible – it is easier to solve an issue in a short conversation versus emailing back and forth eight times
• 确定谁需要接收电子邮件，避免抄送每个人默认
• Include those people who need to respond in the To: line and cc: those folks who need to know, but not respond
• Make sure the subject line is specific and speaks to the content of the email and that it is searchable, i.e., avoid vague terms such as “Follow-up” or “Needed Information”
• 让你的邮件尽可能简短
• If there are 3 things you need, then state that in you opening line, so the person is aware up front and knows to look for those – you can also use a bold font to emphasize the 3 things
• When you need to send a longer email, use bullets whenever possible to make it easier to read and easier tracking for the eyes

In the end, you are in control of how you respond to your inbox, but keep in mind, not responding says something about you to your co-workers. It does not take long for folks to start talking, “Rob doesn’t ever respond to email – it’s so frustrating.” 最终，这会对你的职业轨迹产生影响。Don’t get passed up for a promotion because you are sloppy with your email responses or ignore emails. 我想补充一点，每个人都偶尔会错过一封邮件，在这种情况下，承认并道歉，并采取措施避免错过邮件。

Finally, there are tools to help you manage your email. You need to find what works for you. This might involve flagging emails that need your response to remind you to respond. 这样你就可以看到标记的邮件。你可以考虑把邮件设置为“未读”，直到你有时间回复，这样你就可以对它们进行分类。It might also involve culling through your inbox once a week to make sure you missed nothing.

Find what works best for you, just please read all of the emails you receive and read the entire email. While you feel it may cost you valuable time, it actually takes less time.

最好的，