For Whom the E-mail Black Berry Bell Tolls

When I spotted this sign while preparing for a hike on a delicious day in the mountains of Woodstock two weeks ago, I thought not of unloading my backpack – but instead the ridiculous amount of e-mails that were loading up on my Black Berry during my outdoor trek into the wilderness.

My beginning moments of Zen, designed to relax and offer a dose of work life balance, were momentarily interrupted by memories of WHEN THE BELL TOLLS! I had purposely left my Black Berry at the cabin (Truth be told I couldn’t get a signal on the trail. I had tried the day before) so I could soak up the sun and fresh air.

As I wrote in a recent Black Berry Overload post, we’ve become addicted and conditioned to responding to the ding. Kinda like mouse. We hear the little ding, and wait for a morsel of another time consuming e-mail. Often we’d benefit from kicking the habit and using those wasted manic e-mailing minutes in a more productive way. Here’s how:

Lesson One: Taking the Bings in Stride

I’m here to tell you it’s ok to say no to checking e-mail every time the bell tolls. That’s the first lesson toward becoming more e-mail conscious: vanquishing the need for speedy doses of information—most of which lacks urgency and is of little importance. Saying no to the “bing” is really about preserving your sanity and saving precious time that can be spent completing a project, instead of interrupting creative flow midstream.

Lesson Two: Think Before You Click

The above phrase is taken from the e-mail etiquette book, Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home (Knopf, 2007) by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. SEND stands for Simple, Effective, Necessary and Done. Because we can feel swallowed up by the barrage of ridiculous, meaningless e-mails, we might get a little cranky and press “send” before giving real thought to what we’ve written.

That was the scenario for a friend who recently found herself embroiled in a nasty e-mail exchange due to a simple misunderstanding. Jenny had sent an e-newsletter to her e-mail database, which is carefully monitored. Connie, who had allegedly not signed up for this newsletter was a recipient, and promptly sent Jenny an angry e-mail berating her for spamming.

A tirade of ballistic e-mails bolted in both directions. Regardless of blame, both of those women could have given more thought to their responses—instead they shot from the hip. It’s easy to issue nasty rants toward someone with whom you don’t have to speak with face-to-face. Remember that you can’t take back an angry e-mail, and it might have personal or business consequences down the road.

Lesson Three: E-Mail vs. the Phone Call

Had Jenny and Connie picked up the phone, I’d wager the conversation might have saved time, energy and angst. This brings me to lesson three; e-mail can often be likened in its nature to the shorthand in an old-fashioned telegram—the message you intend to send might be read, but not necessarily heard.

Suppose your colleague asked you to stay late to finish a report, but you’re already committed to a dinner date. The e-mail exchange might read something like this.

Tony: “Need you to stay late. Report deadline tonight.”

John: “I have previous commitment. Might I complete Monday?”

Tony: “I’ll stay and do it myself.”

Was there a bit of sarcasm in Tony’s response? Is Tony angry about having to stay late on a Friday night? Perhaps it’s not that big of a deal and Tony can get it done without much fuss. John won’t know Tony’s true disposition unless he phones Tony for a quick chat.

Lesson Four: E-Mail Overload Controls

As your e-mail traffic grows exponentially, you’ll have to find ways to manage it and determine which are deletable on sight. Statistics from The Radicati Group, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology market research firm, reveals that spam is forecasted to account for 75 percent of messaging traffic in 2007, growing to 82 percent by 2011. There are archiving programs, filter systems and guidelines to help you better control e-mail glut. But if you’re serious about taking control of your e-mail overload, take a look at the book, Hamster Revolution: Stop Info-Glut and Reclaim Your Life! by Mike Song, Vicki Halsey, and Tim Burress (Berrett-Koehler, 2007). It includes tips on reducing wasteful e-mails and nurturing e-mail prowess.

Lesson Five: No Reply Needed

Not every e-mail is an invitation for a response. For those with whom you e-mail regularly, you might add, “no reply needed” to the end of a message. You can also make individual agreements with people to keep things tight when exchanging e-mails. And try this—make a habit of e-mailing one line answers in the subject line, as this will help others cut down on overload. It’s a conscious way to save time for your e-mail-intended and less time for you to have to spend in the in-box separating the wheat from the chaff.

For some tips to improve your e-mail consciousness head to The WorkLife Minute with Judy Martin at Canvas Magazine.