Don’t Do An Email Reply That Just Says “Thank You”

Work email traffic can be burdensome and a hindrance to productivity. There are lots of tips for making it less so. Don’t cc everyone in the department, keep your email program closed except for once or twice a day, etc.

Here’s another — Don’t write back “thank you.”

I have lots of email exchanges at work that go like this:

Email 1 (to me): Please advise me on the attached document.

Email 2 (from me): Here is my advice …

Email 3 (back to me): Thank you.

I appreciate thankfulness, but eliminating Email 3 reduces inbound email on an exchange like this by 50%. By sending it, you forced me to open it and do something with it — delete it or archive it — lest it continue to clog my inbox, getting in the way of messages I need to process.

If you are really thankful for someone’s help, don’t thank them by filling up their email inbox. Instead, every once in awhile, tell them in person or leave them a handwritten note. It will mean more and it will reduce the amount of email processing your co-worker must do.