E-mail Intuition

Constant little messages nagging at the bottom of the screen,
A minute ago there was but one, now there's seventeen!

"Can you do this?",
"You need to know...",
"Can you help me, please!",
"For your info...",
"To confirm...",
"We need your expertise."

Go through them all, one by one, sorting bad from good,
Read through them all, thoroughly, make sure they're understood.

"Prioritise that one",
"That's meaningless",
"This wasn't meant for me!"
"Do that later",
"File away",
"I'm sat where you can see!".

Reply to one, reply to all, follow a hyperlink,
Save attachments, delete spam, make the inbox shrink.

Things are getting out of hand, let's stop and give some thought,
to etiquette around e-mails,so we don't get to distraught.

First things first - why write it down, when you can go and speak,
Look! See, they're over there, they're not playing hide and seek.

Do you need to attach those documents of multi megabytes?
A little link can get you there, and put the world to rights.

That mailing list, that's full of names, must it go to everyone,
Target the recipients, make it personal, to help get the job done.

Make it useful, make it relevant, don't use it out of fear,
Be more thoughtful, be more sparing, keep it clean and clear.

E-mail is a useful tool for sharing thoughts and to keep in touch,
But use it wisely and with care, don't use it as a crutch.