Managing email is one of the most trying, time-consuming, and overwhelming parts of every professional's daily life. And although many of us buy into the theory that email isn't work (because real work should be creation-based), the unfortunate reality we all have to face is that, sadly, email is work. Why? Because we need to do it to get our jobs done, it takes up time, and it's an expected part of our professional roles. So, even though emailing may not be helping you get that product launched, or that book into your publisher, it is part of your job. Ugh. I believe that email can become even more challenging when you face a regular stream of unsolicited emails. These are emails from folks you don't know who want things, want to tell you things, want to ask you things, or want to yell at you about things (see more on that last one below). As someone with an active online life - and a blog with 35,000 newsletter subscribers - I get a lot of these unsolicited emails. And, for years, I've tried hard to respond to many of the ones I get. This doesn't mean I respond to every email - not by a long shot - but it does mean I try. But there's one type of email I won't respond to, and it's the one type of email I recommend you never respond to either. What email is that? It's the most toxic of all bad emails out there. The irrationally negative email. The I-hate-you email. The YOU SUCK email. Is there an email sitting in your inbox that screams at you for something you likely never did? An email that bashes you for something someone read about you in an article that isn't even true? An email that makes inaccurate assumptions about your life and berates you for them? My advice: Just don't respond. It's not worth your time. In 2006, when I first started a popular blog and random people online who didn't know me were able to contact me for the first time in my life, I started learning this lesson. Seven years later, I'm still at it. I'm not perfect, and I mess up. Just this month, I responded to one because it was so appallingly offensive. The result? I started an idiotic chain of toxic emails that took up my headspace for a few of my short hours on this planet. Was it stupid? Highly. Did I regret it? Very much so. How did it end? I stopped responding and put a filter in gmail to immediately trash all future emails from the person. The lesson is simple. Got an insanely negative email in your inbox from someone you don't know about something you're not responsible for? Don't answer. Unless you want to feed a troll. Then go ahead and respond. Spend your energy trying to convince someone who hates you of an alternative position. Start an email war. But I don't recommend it
