Subject Line

Subject lines are the worst. The US Army has a standard start to their subject line which I am going to incorporate this year.

• Keywords:
  • ACTION – Compulsory for the recipient to take some action
  • SIGN – Requires the signature of the recipient
  • INFO – For informational purposes only, and there is no response or action required
  • DECISION – Requires a decision by the recipient
  • REQUEST – Seeks permission or approval by the recipient
  • COORD – Coordination by or with the recipient is needed

• And a few more that I am adding
  • Question: I have a question I need an answered
  • Meeting: Can we set up a meeting?
  • Maybe more?

After that I am trying to come up with a standard convention to help me look for stuff afterwards.

The First Line

I am going put in a “Bottom Line” in my email.  The US Army above refers to it as a BLUF, Bottom Line Up Front. It is the essential core message of the email.

So, in theory an email from me might look like . . .

Subject:  Coordinate: SOL Training Meeting for March 2018

Body: Bottom Line: Please use the Link To Doodle to select a meeting time for SOL Training

Hi,

So we need to get together to plan out our first meeting for the SOL Training. Rather than emailing back and forth, lets use the website Doodle.