If you have something that requires attention, call first to notify the recipient that he or she should view his or her email, not the other way around.
We’ve all received those phone calls,
“Did you read my email?”
“When did you send it?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
ARGGGGHHHH
If it is truly important, call to notify that it has been sent.
Ok ok ok. So I AM a Dukie…
That doesn’t mean that this video doesn’t do a good job of articulating the challenges (or exasperation) that email overload brings us.
Here’s the video.
Here’s the related story.
(Go Blue Devils!)
Well, my friends at Basex got out their video cameras and interviewed some high level executives on the subject of information overload. They feel our pain, we feel their pain — we need a world solution. Sooner rather than later. Here is the 3 1/2 minute video.
Great editorial in the Patriot News by Steven Birmingham, Maybe ALL CAPS isn’t bad ALLLLL the time?
Most successful businesspeople have one thing in common: They have a plan and they work that plan. Productive email users are no different. They take time to organize their days, and stick to that plan, allowing for reasonable (but not continuous low priority e-mail) interruptions. (excerpted from Inbox Detox, Acanthus Publishing 2009)
Urgent Ursula sends emails when she needs something ASAP. She expects that her subordinates have their email open and are anxiously awaiting her electronic gifts. She doesn’t consider that her employees could be trying to manage their daily plans. Sometimes Ursula almost “enjoys” the power that it represents.
Ursula’s Antidote: Never send urgent e-mails. Email was not established to be an urgent communication tool. Anything urgent or needed in less than 3 hours should be done in person or by telephone. (excerpted from Inbox Detox, Acanthus Publishing 2009)
It was “music to my ears” or “beauty to my eyes” when I received this email autoresponse from Tim Dodge:
From: “Tim Dodge”
Date: xxx
To: <marsha@marshaegan.com>
Subject: Auto-reply: Your recent e-mail to me
Please be aware that, to minimize interruptions and provide faster responses to member and media inquiries, I check my e-mail only at 8:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 4:00 PM. Therefore, I may not see your message right away. If you need a response sooner than that, please call me at 1-800-xxx-xxxx extension xxx.
Thank you for understanding.
Tim
Now, this approach may not be for everyone. We’ve been harping on spreading out the times you check email as a great way to be more productive…
I asked Tim how this system has worked for him, and here is his response:
I have no objection to you mentioning me by name in your blog. The automated e-mail response has worked pretty well, on the whole. I started using it because I read several time management articles that strongly suggested checking e-mail only twice a day. I decided to try it and set two daily MS Outlook reminders for me to check – one at 11:30 AM, the other at 4 PM (I’ve also fallen into the habit of checking when I turn on my computer in the morning, but that just allows me to ID and delete spam.) I found that limiting my e-mail checking was easy to adjust to, but my colleagues didn’t know about the change. Consequently, I’d get phone calls at 10 AM saying, “Did you read the e-mail so&so just sent?” Eventually, I decided I should let people know what I was doing. Honestly, I expected to get some grief from colleagues, a couple of whom feel very strongly that we should respond to customers immediately about anything. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of response. The only complaint is from one of my brothers, who said that it’s annoying. J
I like limiting e-mail checks to a couple of times a day because it reduces interruptions. If there was a way to close the e-mail program completely while leaving on the calendar, task list and journal features, I’d love it. If Outlook is open, it’s constantly tempting you to look at the 10 unread messages in your in box.
That’s my story, fwiw.
Regards,
Tim
Instead, try this: view each email, in order, from top to bottom, or bottom to top. Resist the temptation to “pick and choose” the next e-mail you will view. Why? Because picking and choosing wastes time.
The key is to NOT move to the next message until the first message has been moved or deleted from you inbox. Deleted because its spam, or was a quick notice. Moved to an e-file for triaging later.
It takes some discipline to do this, but the rewards are huge. Try it!
Hate having a Cluttered Desk? Then why are there so many messages in your inbox?
Keeping numerous emails in your inbox is akin to keeping all of your paper tasks strewn all over your desk. There is no organization, no priority, no categorization.
If you hate having a cluttered desk, then apply the same principles to how you manage your inbox. 200+ messages hanging in that inbox is equal to having 200 notes, files, messages, sticky notes ALLLL over your desk, in no piles, or files, – just strewn all around. That’s what you’re doing by leaving all that stuff in your inbox.
Your efforts to keep your inbox empty will hinge on the effectiveness manage all those messages coming in to your inbox. The key to this is: GET THEM OUTA THERE!
This doesn’t mean handling or working all those items, it means organizing them. That’s where e-folders save the day. See our posts on how to set up folders 12 steps .
By creating separate folders to store emails that have arrived in your inbox, you are taking a proactive approach to the problem rather than a reactive method that will lead to stress down the line.
The latest projections for email use has me concerned about the impact of information overload. These projections, released May 6 by The Radicati Group, Inc., indicate that the number of worldwide email users will increase from 1.4 billion to 1.9 billion in the next four years. The study also shows that the number of email messages sent per day will more than double by 2013 – going from the current 247 billion to 507 billion per day.
Given that the number of email users is increasing by 25 percent but actual messages are going to double, Egan is concerned about what this means for people already suffering from information overload.
Now is the time to be responsible. People need to consider each message, and ask themselves if email is really the best venue for that message. It’s so easy to default to email as everyone’s preferred medium, and then you’re just contributing to the overwhelm.
Every email interruption pulls people away from their current tasks. After every single interruption, it takes an average of 4 minutes to get back on track. That means it takes only 15 emails for you to lose an hour of productive, billable time. Think about the number of emails you actually get in a day – now imagine that doubling in the next four years. Egan asks how much time you’ll really be losing to email, and how easy it is to get overwhelmed.
The solution is to take a responsible approach to email management by getting your own email practices under control NOW. In order to keep email from becoming overwhelming, a cultural shift will have to happen around the way we all approach email.
Although there are a number of tools out there designed to help people manage their inboxes, I believe that the best solution is for the user to adopt effective email management habits now, to better handle the future’s onslaught – and we have the tools to get the job done. Are you familiar with our12-step program to help combat email e-ddiction, with tips designed to help individuals take control of their inboxes?
With the increasing dependence on email, it’s really easy to get caught up in the information overload. We all need to stop now and take control of our inboxes in order to ensure that we don’t let our inboxes take over our lives.
To read more about The Radicati Group’s research, click here.
Your
inbox is making you sick, and
Inbox Detox - And the Habit of E-mail Excellence Order yours today. Detoxify your Inbox tomorrow
