A War on Email, I Survived and So Did Others.
Some time ago I started a war on my email. I survived and won the battle. Yes... there were only minor casualties. I put an automation rule to respond to my work email to deal with the deluge. One of my email accounts had over 3000 unread emails in it. I’ve turned that account off. It can’t be important to me. I simply just don’t value it and it’s never important. Its information overload.
I have survived and I haven’t been in trouble about it. I have had the occasional “didn’t you get that email? Of course I did, I just hadn’t got around to reading it”
I operate a number of email accounts to manage my workload. I tried something like this recently and this and it worked a treat. I suggest if you do try it, tell your team or boss and do it as trial for a week. Tweak it to make it work for you and your team.
I set up an auto responder email. It read:
“Thank you for your email. I read my emails twice a day and respond to them accordingly at 12 midday and 4pm. I read email in order of business priority. If you are sending me a meeting appointment, please send the agenda and the meeting outcomes that are required so that I can prepare accordingly.
If that matter is urgent please ring me and leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding as this helps me manage time more effectively and serve you better.
Have a great day.
Regards Matt”
I told my immediate coworkers in advance if you need me, just call me and still send me the email.
I then put my landline phone and mobile onto message bank and observed what happened. Surprise people stopped sending me unnecessary emails and the phone calls dropped off. I have now created more productive time.
Other people’s urgency no longer became mine. Within a week I increased my productivity time. It was hard the first day. I was used to the amphetamine pellet dispenser responding to most email as it came in. I went cold turkey and turned it off and back on at 12pm and 4pm.
It bothered a couple of people. It was an experiment. I was challenging the status quo. Like all good experiments there are lessons and sometimes causalities. I gather those people didn’t quite understand my needs or priorities. They assumed I waited around for email. They operated in the urgency paradigm not the high performance paradigm. Just a reminder if you are not applying Stephen Coveys Important and Urgent Matrix, you are losing precious time. Consider applying it for at least 3 days and check your progress. It's a mental, behavioural and attitudinal shift.
The Important and Urgent Matrix
This tool, developed by Stephen Covey (Covey, 2004), helps people set priorities and learn how good management means putting first things first and organizing and carrying out work based on priorities. This tool helps people learn that the most important thing is not managing time; it is managing ourselves.
The Importance of Effective Self Management and Prioritization
Quadrant I Represents things that are 'urgent and important'. Quadrant I activities are usually "crises' or problems'. They are very important, but if not careful Quadrant I activities can consume you. As long as you focus on it, it keeps getting bigger and bigger until it dominates your work. There will always be crises that require immediate attention, but how many things are really that urgent?
Quadrant II includes activities that are `important but not urgent'. It is the quality quadrant, where you plan and anticipate, and prevent things that otherwise might become urgent.
Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal leadership. This is where you should spend most of your time!
Quadrant III includes things that are "urgent but not important". Plenty of managers spend too much time in this quadrant. The urgency sometimes is based on someone else's priorities.
Quadrant IV includes activities that are "not urgent and non important". It is the "waste of time' quadrant.
If you’re strong and able, try and have an email free day……once a week or once a fortnight or once a month. We are far to addicted to email ecstasy, love or hate it. Choose your work poison wisely.
Journey well,
Matt Cartwright
Inspiring People, Inspiring Business, Inspiring Results
© Copyright 2008 -12
Some time ago I started a war on my email. I survived and won the battle. Yes... there were only minor casualties. I put an automation rule to respond to my work email to deal with the deluge. One of my email accounts had over 3000 unread emails in it. I’ve turned that account off. It can’t be important to me. I simply just don’t value it and it’s never important. Its information overload.
I have survived and I haven’t been in trouble about it. I have had the occasional “didn’t you get that email? Of course I did, I just hadn’t got around to reading it”
I operate a number of email accounts to manage my workload. I tried something like this recently and this and it worked a treat. I suggest if you do try it, tell your team or boss and do it as trial for a week. Tweak it to make it work for you and your team.
I set up an auto responder email. It read:
“Thank you for your email. I read my emails twice a day and respond to them accordingly at 12 midday and 4pm. I read email in order of business priority. If you are sending me a meeting appointment, please send the agenda and the meeting outcomes that are required so that I can prepare accordingly.
If that matter is urgent please ring me and leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding as this helps me manage time more effectively and serve you better.
Have a great day.
Regards Matt”
I told my immediate coworkers in advance if you need me, just call me and still send me the email.
I then put my landline phone and mobile onto message bank and observed what happened. Surprise people stopped sending me unnecessary emails and the phone calls dropped off. I have now created more productive time.
Other people’s urgency no longer became mine. Within a week I increased my productivity time. It was hard the first day. I was used to the amphetamine pellet dispenser responding to most email as it came in. I went cold turkey and turned it off and back on at 12pm and 4pm.
It bothered a couple of people. It was an experiment. I was challenging the status quo. Like all good experiments there are lessons and sometimes causalities. I gather those people didn’t quite understand my needs or priorities. They assumed I waited around for email. They operated in the urgency paradigm not the high performance paradigm. Just a reminder if you are not applying Stephen Coveys Important and Urgent Matrix, you are losing precious time. Consider applying it for at least 3 days and check your progress. It's a mental, behavioural and attitudinal shift.
The Important and Urgent Matrix
This tool, developed by Stephen Covey (Covey, 2004), helps people set priorities and learn how good management means putting first things first and organizing and carrying out work based on priorities. This tool helps people learn that the most important thing is not managing time; it is managing ourselves.
The Importance of Effective Self Management and Prioritization
Quadrant I Represents things that are 'urgent and important'. Quadrant I activities are usually "crises' or problems'. They are very important, but if not careful Quadrant I activities can consume you. As long as you focus on it, it keeps getting bigger and bigger until it dominates your work. There will always be crises that require immediate attention, but how many things are really that urgent?
Quadrant II includes activities that are `important but not urgent'. It is the quality quadrant, where you plan and anticipate, and prevent things that otherwise might become urgent.
Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal leadership. This is where you should spend most of your time!
Quadrant III includes things that are "urgent but not important". Plenty of managers spend too much time in this quadrant. The urgency sometimes is based on someone else's priorities.
Quadrant IV includes activities that are "not urgent and non important". It is the "waste of time' quadrant.
If you’re strong and able, try and have an email free day……once a week or once a fortnight or once a month. We are far to addicted to email ecstasy, love or hate it. Choose your work poison wisely.
Journey well,
Matt Cartwright
Inspiring People, Inspiring Business, Inspiring Results
© Copyright 2008 -12
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