How we let email control us and what to do about it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This is an excerpt from a book by American journalist and speaker Phil Simon. It will be about how people invade each other's lives through email and how to resist it.

If, when working with e-mail, it seems to you that you are playing a game where you need to “catch up” with a hammer a mole suddenly crawling out in one or the other burrow, you are not alone. Email is by default the main channel for business communications. According to the Radicati Group, the average office clerk receives about 100 emails a day. This number is increasing annually by 15%. In July 2012, consultancy McKinsey Global Institute published a report entitled The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity through Social Technologies. It says that front-line employees spend 28% of their time managing email.

Think about it. If you have a 50-hour work week, then 14 hours of that week will be spent reading and writing emails. You hardly spend as much time in Word, Excel, or other work programs.

These numbers might not be a problem if email were truly an effective communication channel. Rather, it is such for some companies. But in most cases, this is not the case. Of course, email has a right to exist, but don't get carried away. Research that continual checking of incoming calls lowers the IQ level.

In recent years, email has become a real scourge of business communications. However, you shouldn't blame her for all the troubles. Blaming technology is convenient: it's a good excuse to avoid looking in the mirror. After all, if we look inside, we will understand that the problem is not in email as such, but in how we use it.

The point is not to opt out of email (although some do). The point is to use it rationally.

Where to begin?

Understand email ≠ conversation

You cannot conduct a dialogue via e-mail in the same way as in real life. There are always time gaps between letters, and text messages do not imply close friendly manifestations to the interlocutor. Justin Kruger of New York University and Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago that lack of non-verbal cues people misinterpret emails.

Psychologists have found that it is only possible to correctly interpret the mood in a text message in half of the cases. Smilies, alas, will not help, for example, distinguish humor from sarcasm. This often leads to misunderstandings. Are you ready to toss a coin every time trying to guess if your message is clear to the interlocutor?

Follow the three letter rule

Once you've accepted the fact that email isn't the best place for heart-to-heart conversations, move on to action.

Use the rule of three letters: if the issue is not resolved in three emails, a personal meeting is needed.

It is applicable to both administrative tasks (such as scheduling a meeting) and personal. It will save you a lot of time and a lot of frustration. However, not everyone likes it, be prepared for the displeasure of some comrades. With a reasonable amount of assumption, but it's time to get rid of the "mail for all questions" attitude.

Don't solve urgent matters by email

If the problem is really important and requires immediate action, do not address it in emails. There is a phone for this. Make this the rule in your company.

Don't use email to manage tasks

Email is not a task manager. But many people use email as such. Unsurprisingly, they are constantly distracted. I opened my inbox to check my tasks, and a stream of work and personal messages fell on you. It's easy to switch to them, forgetting why you opened the mail client.

There are standalone applications for task management: DropTask, and others. They are not a replacement for email, they are geared towards the goals you are trying to achieve.

It's the same with project management., or Basecamp - convenient and affordable tools that will save you from kilometers of message chains.

Don't treat communication like mining coal in a mine

Few are free in their work relationships. Many, including because they cannot choose their colleagues, clients and partners. Some of them are too "busy" to talk on the phone - they'd rather write a dozen messages instead of verbally discussing everything in two minutes.

In this case, you need to pay attention to the manner of their communication (words, phrases, and so on). Ask yourself if you really want to interact with people shying away from the phone and speaking. Take a closer look at job seekers for a vacant position in your company, potential clients or potential future suppliers. If they initially communicate as if they were mining ore in a mine, then what are the chances that they will change?

Remember life outside of email

She is! Don't be afraid to close your mailbox. The world will not collapse. This is obvious, but for many it can be a revelation. For example, at Klick Health, employees use e-mail. According to its CEO, email is a tool that gives control over itself to other people.

What do you think: does email really rule peopleby imposing tasks and the order of their implementation on them?