The Best Productivity Tip For Entrepreneurs
If you’re an entrepreneur chances are you’re looking to increase your productivity by make every minute count.
But instead of looking at new tools, smartphones or systems, consider this sage advice for entrepreneurs from 350 years ago:
Blaise Pascal, Lettres provinciales, 1656-7
Je n’ai fait /cette lettre-ci/ plus longue que parce que je n’ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte
Roughly translates: “I made this letter so long only because I didn’t have the time to make it shorter.”
What if you made your emails a maximum of two sentences?
’nuff said
My name is Matthew Needham and I'm a full time interim manager and consultant. I work with businesses large and small to help them grow their businesses, save money or improve their business processes.
I'm an entrepreneur, accountant and blogger. You can read more about me, or The Big Red Tomato Company on the 
That is indeed sage advice. One of the core tenets of business writing is: “be concise,” followed closely by “do more with less.” I try to keep all my work emails short and as to-the-point as possible; I only wish the people I correspond with on a regular basis would reciprocate.
Matthew Needham Reply:
November 2nd, 2012 at 1:55 am
Thanks Alex. My pet hate is people who send long emails but don’t make it clear what they want!