Break The Email Chains: A New Approach To Email Management
Years ago I heard a close friend of mine say, “I answer emails for a living. I sit at my desk all day long waiting for email to come in so I can respond as quickly as possible.” This statement has stuck with me over the years and has been the primary motivator for several aspects of my professional email communications.
Email is a stressor.
Without getting into the Pavlovian definitions of pain, exhaustion, delay, and confusion, I think it’s fair to say email can bring both pleasure and pain, depending on the message. Too many emails can become overwhelming, negative messages delivered electronically can be a source of pain, anticipation of delayed responses (or need to personal need to respond) can deprive us of a necessary digital recovery respite. The ultimate negative stressor is the lack of nuance in email that often times causes confusion.
Yet email continues to be one of the best ways to communicate important information in our professional lives.
options to emails (phone, in-person, postcard)
Zero Inbox
Responding in near real-time
emails during meetings
single word/sentence responses
stress and anxiety
phone alerts
not responding to emails from your mobile.