Wired in a Wireless World

Recently, the Blackberry system went down for around 12 hours. That meant that every Blackberry user could not access their email for 12 whole hours, causing chaos, frustration, and withdrawal-itis. This lack of connection created such an uproar that the New York Times devoted precious space in their ‘Weekend in Review’ section to discuss the nuances about this incident. Namely, NYT reported that we all have a new syndrome called A - A.D.D. – Acquired Attention Deficit Disorder. Even if we managed not to be labeled A.D.D. during the 90’s give-most-kids-and-adults-a-disorder era, we get this challenge anyway. We are now trained to constantly check for messages – from our PDAs, laptops, desktops, and phones. We feel the need to be constantly connected to our loop of information. According to the NYT article, it does not even matter what the information is. Our messages could range from nothing all the way to critical; yet, we MUST get our voicemail, email, and text messages in real time. And that’s made us, well, wired. Wired to the technology, wired to the information, and just plain wired in a weary frenzied way. Even if you are not using a Blackberry, what happens to your mood when you can’t get online? When you misplace your cell phone? When your email isn’t working? When your computer (God forbid) crashes? We go nuts. We are all wired in the wireless world. What impact does this technology dependence have on you and your business? Are you finding yourself wasting time online? Are you finding that your team is wasting time online? Are you handling new email requests before dealing with the records, piles, and other higher priority issues already on your plate? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions then heed these 12 steps to cure e-mail addiction! Yes, alcoholics have one, and drug abusers have one. Now people addicted to e-mail (and that’s most of us, yours truly included) have a 12-step program designed to tackle this obsession. This program, reported on CNN.com (ok – this is an oxymoron!) was devised by executive coach Marsha Egan in Pennsylvania to teach people how to manage their e-mail. 1. Admit that e-mail is managing you. Let go of your need to check e-mail every ten minutes.rn2. Commit to keeping your inbox empty. (I try to keep the inbox to less than one screen.)rn3. Create files where you can put inbox material that needs to be acted on.rn4. Make broad headings for your filing system so that you have to spend less time looking for filed material.rn5. Deal immediately with any e-mail that can be handled in two minutes or less but create a file for mail that will take longer.rn6. Set a target date to empty your inbox. Don’t spend more that an hour at a time doing it.rn7. Turn off automatic send/receive.rn8. Establish regular times to review your e-mail. (When I am working on a project I turn off email altogether, such as right now as I write this column.)rn9. Involve others in conquering your addiction. (A wonderful client of mine, an executive with American Heart Association, has banned business email from 6pm Fridays to 6am Sundays. His company culture now forces everyone NOT to handle company email on the weekend. Hallelujah!)rn10. Reduce the amount of e-mail you receive. (Unsubscribe to those newsletters you aren’t reading anyway.)rn11. Save time by using only one subject per e-mail; delete extra comments from forwarded e-mail, and make the subject line detailed.rn12. Celebrate taking a new approach to e-mail. On my 50th birthday, a friend gave me a cooking class party. During this event, my sister was supposed to be stirring the vanilla glaze for the baked pears. Not realizing this was her total responsibility, she kind of disappeared for awhile, thinking nobody would notice. The smoking glaze gave her away! Where was she? As a busy lawyer, she was hiding in the bathroom doing Blackberry e-mailing! It’s tough to separate from technology. Give it a try. At lease some of the time. Source: CNN.com 2-20-07 To get Karen’s Top Ten list on how to blow it as a communicator email rnKaren@speakforyourself.com and put Top Ten List – Blow it as a Communicator as the subject header. © Karen Cortell Reisman, MSrn