Mail moves the country, and ZIP codes move the mail—well, that slogan might have been accurate once. Regardless, most messages you receive—whether in the form of e-mail, faxes, or memos—will require your response.
The faster and easier you’re able to respond, the better your day, week, career, and life will be—and the greater control you’ll have over your time.
Options abound when it comes to speedily handling message replies. Let’s check ’em out.
If you’re in sales (or another type of position where you initiate contact with potential customers), your mail and messages are proactive rather than reactive. You initiate them to get another party interested in your goods or services, although it’s likely that most of the information you send to others will be in response to requests they’ve made or an obligation you need to fulfill.
I’ll bet that too often correspondence that requires a prompt response falls by the wayside; you have to handle too many other things. Here’s a secret to managing your time: When a response doesn’t require formal business protocol (that is, when you know the other party well), or when the item merits only brief regard, remember that there are many ways to handle it quickly:
When I receive a package from someone, I clip the label from their package and attach it to the documents that came inside with a big paper clip or removable tape. When I’m ready to make a response, an address label to the other party is already available. (This will save you lots of time. When other people respond too slowly, often it’s because they haven’t devised a speedy reply system.)
You have the option of faxing the letter (the fax machine treats deep, bold, red ink as black), or you could copy and mail the letter. Techniques such as these enable you to get a reply to the other party quickly and give you a record of the correspondence. Such a response is helpful to recipients as well; it presents their message with your reply. Think of how many times you’ve written to someone, the person responded, and you couldn’t remember why you wrote in the first place.
When you’ve successfully trained your correspondents to communicate adeptly with you, you both benefit.
Often, when you receive faxes from a free-standing fax machine, the other party uses a full page to announce that a fax is coming, and then uses another page for a six- or eight-line message. The whole communication could have taken one-third of a page. When you initiate a labeling system, you let other parties know you respect their time and resources—and you keep your costs down.
A Stitch in Time Make a point of providing return address labels to your correspondents. Weeks later, you may begin to notice that you receive replies more promptly, and that the other party is using the address labels you provided. This tells you they’ve bought into your system.
And if you’re using a fax/modem, the same principles apply. Keep your fax identification information concise and near the top of the first page. Keep your message brief; it makes a response more likely and keeps your transmission costs down.
Time Out! Most professionals today indicate that they need more time to get their jobs done, often because of the correspondence they have to handle. Actually, that kind of thinking keeps you enslaved to the clock. More time is not on its way, and it’s not the solution if you aren’t operating efficiently.
When you number the points in the correspondence you receive, you can usually address everything in a one-page response. Formal responses that take two or more pages require copy-editing and tedious tweaking. They suck time out of your day and life faster than a vampire at a slumber party.
Chronos Says While business and organizational protocol may often call for formal responses, your mission (should you decide to accept it) is to offer efficient, informal responses, as often as appropriate.
You’ve probably figured this out, but it’s worth mentioning: Any time you want to respond to someone’s message but you don’t want a lengthy conversation, you can time your transmission to arrive when the person isn’t in.
For example, if you’re on the West Coast and it’s 4:30 p.m., it’s a safe bet that if you respond to someone on the East Coast by fax or voice mail, he or she won’t be in at 7:30 p.m. to receive it. Your party will receive the fax the next day, which is fine with you because you didn’t want to talk to anyone anyway.
It’s also a good idea to order office supplies by fax so you won’t have to stay on the phone and spell things out to somebody who writes at a blinding snail’s pace. You won’t have to worry that the other party will record my information incorrectly. A third- or half-page fax/modem transmission can present everything needed to convey in seconds.
You already know about the express-mail services because you probably use them often: FedEx, DHL, Purolator, Roadway, Airborne, UPS, and others. But it still makes sense to use the U.S. Postal Service, despite all their troubles, if you know how to use the system effectively. Here is a brief, alphabetical description from the public information at the postal service regarding standard services. Following that is a description of services to safeguard, protect, and document your packages. Because the Postal Service is always changing their rates, I’ve left these out. You can call your local post office and, with any luck, can get somebody to give you the current rates.
Certified mail: This type provides you with a mailing receipt. A record of delivery is maintained at your receiver’s Post Office. For valuables and irreplaceable items, the Postal Service recommends using insured or registered mail (they’re coming up in this list).
Express Mail Next-Day service: This is the Post Office’s fastest service. To use it, take your shipment to any designated Express Mail Post Office (generally by 5:00 p.m.), or deposit it in an Express Mail collection box. Your package will be delivered to the addressee by 3:00 p.m. the next day (weekends and holidays included).
A Stitch In Time The Post Office has more than 26,000 stations, and over 10,000 special Express Mail collection boxes in which you can deposit your parcels. Your letter carrier can accept prepaid Express Mail shipments when he or she delivers your mail. The Post Office can supply you with mailing containers (envelopes, boxes, and tubes) and the necessary mailing labels free of charge.
First-class mail: This service is designed for letters, postal cards, greeting cards, personal notes, and for sending checks and money orders. You cannot insure ordinary first-class mail. However, additional services such as certificate of mailing, certified, return receipt, and restricted delivery can be purchased. If your first-class mail is not letter-size, make sure it is marked First Class, or use a large green-bordered envelope. Firstclass mail is actually the USPS’s forte; the system is designed to move this category of mail most efficiently. A new generation of scanners can even read hand-addressed envelopes. Bar-coding makes first class mail even faster: Chances are your word processing system already contains a simple bar-coding procedure.
Third-class mail: Also referred to as bulk business or advertising mail, third-class mail may be sent by anyone but is used most often by large mailers. This class includes printed material and merchandise weighing less than 16 ounces. Two rate structures exist for this class: single piece and bulk rate. Individuals may use this class of mail for mailing lightweight parcels, and insurance can be purchased to cover loss or damage of articles.
Forwarding mail: When you move, fill out a Change of Address card in advance at your local post office. When possible, notify your post office at least one month before your move. First-class mail is forwarded at no charge. Magazines, newspapers, and other second-class mail are forwarded at no charge for 60 days.
Time Out! Insurance won’t protect you from all losses. No payments are made for sentimental losses or for any expenses incurred as a result of the loss.
Insurance: Insurance can be purchased up to $5,000 for standard mail, a certain maximum on registered mail, and a far lesser maximum for third and fourth-class mail. Insurance can also be purchased for merchandise mailed at the priority mail or first-class mail rates. With articles insured for more than a threshold amount, a receipt of delivery is signed by the recipient and filed at the delivering post office. The amount of insurance coverage for loss is the actual value, minus any depreciation.
Priority mail: This is first-class mail (more than 12 ounces and up to 70 pounds, with size limitations) to be delivered within two business days. (Rumor has it that P.O. workers are P.O.’d about this category of mail and deliver whenever they get the urge to, about every blue moon.)
Registered mail: The Postal Service regards this as its most secure mailing option. It is designed to provide added protection for valuable and important mail. Postal insurance may be purchased, for articles valued at more than $100, up to a maximum of $25,000. Return-receipt and restricted-delivery services are available for an additional fee. Registered articles are controlled from the point of mailing to delivery. First-class postage is required on registered mail.
Restricted delivery: Except for Express Mail service, you can request restricted delivery when purchasing return-receipt service. Restricted delivery means that delivery is made only to the addressee or to someone who is authorized in writing to receive mail for the addressee. Such mail addressed to officials of government agencies, legislative and judicial branches of federal and state governments, members of the diplomatic corps, minors, and individuals under guardianship, however, can be delivered to an agent without written authorization from the addressee.
Return receipt: This is your proof of delivery; it’s available on mail that you send by COD or Express Mail, mail insured for more than $25, or mail that you registered or certified. The return receipt shows who signed for the item and the date it was delivered. For an additional fee, you can get an exact address of delivery or request restricted-delivery service.
Special delivery: You can buy special-delivery service on all classes of mail except bulk third-class. Delivery happens even on Sundays and holidays, during hours that extend beyond the hours for the delivery of ordinary mail. This service is available to all customers served by city carriers, and to other customers within a 1-mile radius of the delivery post office. Note that special delivery may be handled by your regular carrier if it’s available before the carrier departs for morning deliveries.
Chapter 11, “Filing: Your Simple Salvation,” discusses setting up a file for each month and also creating a 31-day rotating tickler file. These files offer a home for things that you don’t need to deal with immediately, or that are best dealt with at some future time (you know, like the turn of the twenty-second century!). To handle mail quickly, tickler files are just what the time-saving doctor ordered.
A Stitch in Time The tickler file is your answer anytime you have hard-copy correspondence you need to address but that is best sent at another time.
Suppose you receive correspondence that doesn’t have to be answered now. What are you going to do? Let it sit in the black hole known as your in-basket? Park it some place on your desk that is equally remote to a black hole? Create some new file for it that you never find again? All these temporary solutions are less than desirable.
While it may make sense to handle the correspondence now if it needn’t be transmitted till later, do what you have to do with it and then park it in your tickler file. For example, if you receive something on the 5th that need not be mailed until the 15th (to reach the other party by the 19th), take care of it today while it’s hot, fresh, and right in front of you. Seal it, stamp it, and put it in your tickler file for the 15th.
The electronic version of this technique is to type your e-mail message and then enter the date and time you want it submitted, or put it the Deferred mail box for sending when you choose.
You may recall that a tickler file is an ideal way to organize bills without paying them too early (which can cost you if you have an interest-bearing checking account) and avoiding penalties for paying too late.
Here are some other ways to use your tickler file for timed responses that save you time and help put you on top of things:
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