Jack’s Buzz

Email has changed the workplace in both directions–made us simultaneously more efficient and more impatient; more communicative and less civil. We’re richer in our ability to communicate with more people, but poorer in our communication abilities. Email, like so many new things, is at once a blessing and a curse.

Most of us get far too much email. Every day people send each other about 40 billion messages; all seem urgent, but none are, really. The computerized cyberworld generates another 17 billion auto-alerts, few of which really matter one bit. Then there’s spam—another 40 billion tense offers for important things like a new mortgage or help with my eBay account. USA Today reports that white-collar workers receive 140 emails a day (Oct 5, 2007). From my experience, half of what’s not officially spam is about as important as spam; so my meaningful email total is about 35 messages a day. On average most of us biz workers spend an hour and a half on email every day.

How do We Stop this Madness?
Evidently several companies—and maybe you?—want to get a handle on the downside of email. U.S. Cellular, Intel, and PDF Worldwide have declared Fridays to be email free. That’s right, no spam, no IM, no critical, red-flagged, read-this-or-you’re un-American junk. No jokes, no cute stories, no prayer requests for your third cousin’s ex-wife’s sister, and also nothing important via email. Instead, pick up the phone or walk down the hall and talk to a person like a person.

Civility returns to the workplace, what a concept. I wonder if we can do that in churches? I wonder why we churchy guys didn’t figure it out first. Well, let’s at least get in on a good thing. Let’s tame this beast.

Thoughts on Handling the Email Beast

1. Don’t use email to avoid dealing with a problem. Make the tough (phone) call; that’s what leaders do. As followers of Christ, you’re leading someone somewhere whether you want to or not. You shall be my witnesses means we already are His witnesses–it’s not an option (Acts 1:8).
2. Set aside time to check email and stick to your schedule. Don’t let email programs interrupt your work. Remember that the program is on your computer for your convenience and efficiency.
3. If you’re being paid to work, work. Stop wasting my time and everyone else’s with useless information we do not need. Stop sending me spam jokes, invitations to buy candy from your kid, or the latest YouTube time waster. Do your job for crying out loud. Screen your mailing list for –here’s a key term–relevance. Blanket emails to everyone in the company are not helpful if the information if only useful to a select group of people. Stop being lazy.
4. Cull your inbox. Use the little flags. Answer important items first.
5. Refuse to answer anyone who ignores the subject line. My email program automatically deletes any message with a blank subject line. I never even see it. This little trick saves me looking at a ton of spam, and from having to try to figure out why someone wants my time.
6. Practice email free Friday. In fact, just before you go home every Friday afternoon, just dump your entire inbox in the trash without ever having looked at it. You’ll be flat amazed how much you get done on Fridays. The feeling of accomplishment will make your weekend so much better.

Web developer Edward O’Connor did just that. He declared email bankruptcy after three years—dumping his entire 750-item inbox no matter the consequences. What if you did that and lost an important message from your boss? Just say you’re having problems with your email—they’ll understand!