{"id":9173,"date":"2021-05-19T09:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T13:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/?p=9173"},"modified":"2024-08-01T15:06:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T19:06:41","slug":"5-email-rules-i-learned-as-a-zoom-astronaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2021\/05\/5-email-rules-i-learned-as-a-zoom-astronaut\/","title":{"rendered":"5 email rules I learned as a Zoom astronaut"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Astronaut
Image from Pixabay<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Many times during the pandemic, I have felt like an astronaut, flying solo in my home office “spaceship,” connected only through email and Zoom portals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve relied on email to share information long before COVID, but our disrupted year gave me the space to really reflect on the communication that happens in between our Zoom meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequent, crystal-clear <\/strong>communication helped me relax, especially as life was spinning out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realized sending more effective emails could help alleviate anxiety, for myself and others.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it came to managing the various grant projects orbiting around the college, I started thinking of myself less like an astronaut and more like mission control<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grants office can help launch these ambitious missions, but project directors are the true pilots. We have to constantly communicate in order to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are working on a grant-adjacent project — as a project director especially — you really can’t over<\/em>-communicate with us. In fact, that’s the No. 1 job of a director of any kind: Communicate, communicate, communicate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radio silence can be scary and lonely.<\/strong> Just think of those tense moments in “Apollo 13” and “The Martian” and “Contact” and “Gravity” and “Interstellar.” (Yes, I watch a lot of sci-fi.<\/em>) I welcome your frequent emails and “ccs.” I will even encourage a few “Houston, we have a problem” jokes. But just a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve come up with a list of five personal “rules” for writing more effective emails. This is a practice I’m constantly trying to improve, so call me out if I’m not following through. Maybe you’ll find them helpful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I will acknowledge your email soon after I receive it<\/strong>, but that doesn’t mean I will take action immediately. I usually need some time to process, especially on Monday mornings and the day I return from vacation. (I always need to ease into my inbox on those days.) You will receive a response within 24 hours — usually much sooner. If I can’t resolve the issue immediately, you will get some version of, “Thanks, got your email, and I’m planning to take care of ____ by (a deadline). I will get back to you with questions if I have them.” <\/em>And I make sure to add this to-do item to my weekly “quest map”<\/a> so I don’t forget!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I will be clear about what I need from you. <\/strong>If I need you to take action, I will make this obvious and will probably highlight in bright yellow<\/span>, or turn it into a more organized chart if there are multiple pieces. Is my email just an FYI with no action needed? I will make this clear as well. And if I’m forwarding you an epically long email thread, I will summarize the key points so you don’t miss anything important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I will give you a deadline.<\/strong> I’m a former journalist who thrives on deadlines, so this is natural to me. Deadlines help us prioritize and manage our time wisely, especially when we’re trying to juggle multiple projects. I try to summarize the action needed and deadline in the subject of the email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I will attach everything you might need to take action. <\/strong>I’m a fan of Wikipedia — so I’ve been trying to bring the wiki spirit to my emails, meaning, I want to save you the time and hassle of searching for previous emails to give you the full story. When appropriate, I try to compile all of the backstory and documents into one email so you can have them at your fingertips. This helps when you’re trying to quickly prep for a Zoom meeting … and with grant documentation as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I will be mindful of clicking “reply all.”<\/strong> I aim to be as inclusive as possible (for information sharing purposes), but I try to avoid taking the entire group down a rabbit hole of unnecessary minutiae with ongoing replies. This is a strategic balancing act I continue to refine. But again, I want to reiterate: I personally welcome your frequent communication — this makes my job easier as Chief Nerd of Grant Mission Control. You really can’t annoy me. Well, unless you use excessive Comic Sans font in your emails, then, yes … mission accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any email tips you would like to share? I would love to hear about them: sseagle@virginiawestern.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

On our grant radar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

*Free* professional learning opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n