It has happened to all of us. Those email messages that are just not – for us – in any way. And THEN, they send you more of the same. Argghhh!
I get this question alot, and yes, I do have some advice for you…
Either…
1. address it in person, with friendly dialogue or
2. ignore it.
The worst thing you can do is send an email telling them not to send these things. Why? They will most likely interpret your tone MUCH WORSE than you intended, and instead of neutral feelings, you will have prompted negative feelings towards you.
Trust me – an email in this situation just doesn’t cut it.
Check out our article, just posted on Fox Business “Generation Wired Goes To Work: 5 Tips for New Grads and ‘Old’ Bosses
Here’s an excerpt – you’ll have to go to the article for the 5 tips!
More than a million students graduate this month and are ready to enter the workforce. However, at a time when these former students willingly admit to being tangled in an endless web of distractions, employment could present their greatest challenge yet: staying focused for an eight-hour day.
While there is always some doom and gloom surrounding the work habits of the current stock of college grads, this year raises questions that may justify the concerns. How will graduates deal with digital distraction and information overload in the workplace? Will it be hard for a generation that grew up with the Internet to work for a generation that didn’t?
Read more…
What are YOUR suggestions for new grads and/or “old bosses”?
While connectivity around the clock can be extremely advantageous at times, do not abuse this luxury. Constant connectivity can be draining and stressful. Set specific boundaries around when you’ll view your Smartphone or BlackBerry. Hit the off switch when you walk into your home. Don’t let browsing thorough your inbox become a nightly routine. Give the weekend a rest.
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Great post by LifeHacker.com on words to avoid to avoid getting your company in trouble. You laugh – these were in found in actual court documents.
How about…
- Big Problem
- Serious trouble
- I can’t believe
- Catastrophic
Click here for the whole article.
According to a recent global study conducted by IABC (International Association of Business Communicators, ) our drowning in email is actually causing us to be less productive.
According to the study, the biggest sources of email overload are:
•News sources and professional subscriptions (61 %)
•Co-workers (39%)
•Professional networks (34%)
•Team/department sources (29%)
•Company wide corporate sources such as senior mgmt and HR (23%)
Source: http://www.urgentbusinessforms.com/employee_handbook.asp
Julie Freeman, President of IABC, stated that ,
…most people are struggling with how to manage it all and it’s having a significant impact on productivity around the world.An overwhelming majority (85 percent) said that it was having a negative impact at least some of the time. It was even higher (93 percent) for users of Blackberry devices and other personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Some people actually try to solve complex issues by email. Ridiculous!
Check out our other blog post on Toxic Emailer “Chatroom Chuck.”
When something needs to be discussed, DON’T use email. Email is not for discussing, it is for the passing of one way communication.
So, beware the email meeting. Once you’ve seen an issue go around more than once, call a meeting!
Great post by Jonathan Spira entitled, “The Siren’s Call of Information Overload”
Here’s an excerpt:
Instead of multitasking what we actually do is task switching which is really a series of continuous interruptions. While this is done in the belief that one is being more efficient and getting more done, nothing could be farther from the truth. Each interruption comes with a penalty. Read more…
Here is the link.
Here is a blog post by Susan Johnson that outlines the value of filters managing e-mail overload.
As an example, she uses filters to mark certain newly received items as “read,” than automatically filed, so that she does not have to drag and drop these items yet knows where they reside.
Okay. Now it is time to rant. This past week I received at least 15 e-mail messages with this simple one or two word response, “thanks” or “ok.”
Hey, I know folks are just trying to be nice. BUT – We have got to let go of our need to keep the trail going. With the average worker receiving anywhere from 100 to 150 e-mail messages daily, let’s do everyone a favor and stop with the one word responses.
I actually received this response — “Thanks — and how are the kids?” Puh-lease! It is bad enough that you send me an e-mail I didn’t need, but now you are asking me to comment on something absolutely and totally unrelated to the original stream of information.
The one exception that I can tolerate as a one-word response is something that relates to a meeting or scheduling or timing. I actually do like to receive a message that says “Confirmed.”
What are your pet peeves?
