Tips for efficiency and happiness

Monday Comms Tips

I spent a lot of time in my inbox—I imagine many of you can relate. Over the years, I've gathered some helpful communication tips that I found improved my efficiency and happiness. Balancing my email time for me is an exercise in automating the right things, while maintaining the humanness of communications.

General 📌

Designate work time/admin time based on your energy/brain power. Now, I have a bit of a privilege here as I work independently. I answer emails on Monday, when I struggle to focus on deep-thinking work. I do deep work mid-week. I take intro/mentorship calls later on the week when I'm wrapping deadlines.
I only respond to most bulky emails on Monday. I have to set this boundary, or else I find myself distracted all week long. I get stuck in the email cog.
You're not obligated to tell someone all your free times. Protect your you time.
Include pronouns in your email signature. If you're not sure of someone's pronouns, ask. Until you can ask, use gender neutral pronoun they/their/theirs and/or their name. Also be cognisant of accidentally outing people; always follow someone's lead and err on the side of uncertainty and asking 1:1 if you're unsure. If you mess up, apologise and fix.
Stop apologising for 'the delay.' We're perpetuating this idea that people must respond within 24 hours. What a strain on our mental health, and what an unfair expectation to set upon everyone. If you must acknowledge the perceived delay, reframe as gratitude or regret: "Thank you for bearing with me as I worked on my response." Or, "I regret it's taken me over a week to respond."
For bulkier emails, employ some information design. Create bulleted lists, bold action items. End emails with what you need to proceed.
Review your response to makes sure you answered all questions asked o f you. So many extra emails are caused by not reviewing the original email fully.

Introductions 📌

For intros, always ask permission of both parties before reaching out. Consent, always.
Provide context (websites/LinkedIn) and personal connection to encourage they do a bit of research and a clear reason you intro'd them.
Move the introducer to bcc: (with a note). Saves their inbox and lets them know you responded. As the introducer, remind folks "You can move me to bcc: when you respond.
Include your pronouns when introducing yourself. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Tatiana (I use she/they pronouns)." Set a precedence.

Scheduling 📌

Offer times early in an email thread that will end there. I find that preemptively offering times avoids the empty back and forth of "when are you available?"
Include timezones. Use a tool like Spacetime to help you find amenable times without tying your brain into a knot.
To confirm a time, send a calendar invite. (I also frame language in earlier comms, so it's not an unexpected invite, which is jarring. Include time zones and make sure your calendar time zone is set.
Offer non-call alternatives when appropriate. When someone suggests a call as a default, and it doesn't feel necessary, I usually suggest another non-call way to solve it. For example, sometimes starting a document with initial ideas, or reading through something, etc, is what is warranted. I'll include a line like, "If we both still feel a call would be necessary after this, happy to schedule a call with an agenda to make the most of both our time." Despite being an ambivert, I find that calls drain me quite a bit. I also try to remind the other person that it's their time, too.

Scoping/Speaking 📌

Save a list of questions and answers in your notes document. I find that I write the same questions and answers over and over, especially with scoping. Having a resource to copy and paste from is helpful.
When writing those answers, make sure you clearly highlight things you need to customise. It can be offputting to receive form responses.
Before asking a question, see if you can find it somewhere else, then confirm. For example, if you're about to ask someone their Twitter handle, try to do a preliminary search first.
Protect your expertise. Many people will reach out to ask for free advice and not immediately offer budget, even when they have it. I am always here to support mentorship and provide free advice to community members, especially newer and underrepresented folks. However, where I draw the line if if someone is making money off of my expertise. Phrasing I've found success with is, "I'm so flattered by this request! While I am happy to offer help to not-for-profit, community-focused events, I do ask for a fee when working with for-profit organisations like yours. The fee is..."
Maintain a spreadsheet with all your speaking events, with dates, honoraria, speaker bios, talk abstracts, and slide links. I promise it'll come in handy.
If you get asked the same questions over and over for speaking/scoping, consider making a speaker bio and/or Frequently Asked Questions page.