When is Enough - Enough? Thoughts on email
I work for an email-dominant company. Friday was a vacation day. On Thursday I cleaned out my in-box leaving only one item. (I rarely do this, but was feeling the need to purge.) I activated my "Out of Office Assistant" telling those who e-mailed that I was out on Friday, but would return Monday, etc. I also changed my voice message to reflect my absence. Come Monday morning I had zero (0) voice messages, and 135 e-mails.
I’ve been busy as a beaver since Monday morning, but I have reached the point where I can’t keep up – and to make things interesting, I don’t care. As of this writing (close of business Tuesday, I have 158 items in my In-Box, 111 of which are unopened.
What fascinates me is that I’m in “the zone” working on a few really big (and highly visible) projects, getting things done, receiving praise from my boss and colleagues, and oddly enough not feeling overly stressed. In short, it’s been a good few days.
Question: why the hell should I try to address 158 unopened e-mails that arrived over 3 business days? It’s like the “boy who cried wolf”. I’ve stopped believing in their importance. Even the ones with the little red exclamation points attached. I’ve become desensitized. It’s like working in a bell factory – and I can’t hear the ringing.
I’ve been busy as a beaver since Monday morning, but I have reached the point where I can’t keep up – and to make things interesting, I don’t care. As of this writing (close of business Tuesday, I have 158 items in my In-Box, 111 of which are unopened.
What fascinates me is that I’m in “the zone” working on a few really big (and highly visible) projects, getting things done, receiving praise from my boss and colleagues, and oddly enough not feeling overly stressed. In short, it’s been a good few days.
Question: why the hell should I try to address 158 unopened e-mails that arrived over 3 business days? It’s like the “boy who cried wolf”. I’ve stopped believing in their importance. Even the ones with the little red exclamation points attached. I’ve become desensitized. It’s like working in a bell factory – and I can’t hear the ringing.
Comments