Creative Reaction

I’ve considered this blog incomplete without addressing Time Management. A time management primer is here on Businessweek online. It touches on the myth of multi-tasking, managing e-mail, good communication and the value of being organized, and while none of the material is ground-breaking, it’s a good place to start (or review).

A study referenced at Freelance UK highlights the downside of e-mail.

“Not only is a deluge of mail stressing out workers, by constantly having to answer senders’ requests, but repeatedly checking for new messages is dragging down productivity levels.”

The recommendations are very simple and easy to implement, provided that managers are on board. (Italics mine)

“They recommended that e-mail senders at work should never press their colleagues, especially those they oversee, to respond to their emails as they would to a phone call.

Recipients should not constantly monitor their emails “since this will negatively affect all other work activities”, and should instead set aside dedicated email reading times to catch up on their messages.”

An article* in the Atlanta Journal Constitution profiles a business fed up with the disadvantages of e-mail.

The Chief Executive “informally polled his senior management team and found e-mail was overtaking their lives”…

He “couldn’t put a complete stop to e-mail. After all, it’s how business gets done these days. But he could rein it in. He declared Fridays ‘No e-mail’ day. With the exception of outside e-mails from customers, (his employees) cannot use e-mail on Friday.”

“Need an answer to a question or an OK on a project or advice? Get on the phone. Better yet, get out of your seat.”

E-Mail can, indeed, be a black hole sucking up all time let near it, yet it remains an important tool. Some of the problems are over-dependence on it and a lack of productivity skills to manage it. (To be covered soon in this blog.)

For now, encourage yourselves/staff/coworkers to pause; then think, “is there a better way to communicate this?” “Should I call, or use Voice Mail, or use iChat, or simply walk over to the person’s desk or office?” It may take something drastic like quitting your e-mail application for a day to force yourselves to do this. Give it a try. Tell us how it felt and what good became of your brave decision!

*The article, which once required site membership, has suffered an even worse fate and can now no longer be found.