How to Read Email: Backwards

Lena wrote asking for an email tip to share with her boss. Here is her concern:

My boss, who travels frequently, responds to his emails in chronological order (earliest to most recent). Therefore, he often provides advice and gives orders on matters that have been resolved long before he enters the email conversation. This can be awkward at best, if his advice or instructions (copied to any number of clients and coworkers) contradict how we, his employees, handled time-sensitive issues that could not wait for his input.

I believe the solution is to group all emails in the string and read the most recent one to get an overview before entering the discussion. Do you agree?

Yes! I agree with Lena's suggestion. Grouping the emails and reading the most recent first makes sense. Kathy Frederick, who writes The Junk Drawer blog, shared a tip about sorting by thread here recently.

Instead of sorting his email by date and time, Lena's boss should sort by thread. To sort this way in Outlook, click View, Arrange By, and Conversation.

The boss's email reading habit frustrates his staff. But it must also annoy him when he has taken the time to respond to an issue, only to read minutes later that his staff has already handled it.

If you are Lena (not her real name) or anyone else whose boss's email habits are getting in the way of his, her, or your efficiency, share this post. Then talk about how you can get your jobs done more effectively by changing some of your communication and delegation habits.

Good luck!

Lynn
Syntax Training