FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:
Rebecca Corliss
Public Relations, Ictus Initiative
617-717-8294, Rebecca@IctusInitiative.com
Productivity Expert Challenges
Wired Magazine’s Lawrence Lessig on
E-mail BankruptcyReading, PA. February 25, 2008â€""E-mail Bankruptcy,"
used and endorsed by Lawrence Lessig of
Wired magazine, is incorrect and should be avoided at all costs. Productivity expert Marsha Egan criticizes Lessig for offering e-mail bankruptcy as a solution, asserting that this e-mail quick-fix wrongfully rewards an individual's poor productivity practices by offering immediate relief, encouraging bad e-mail habits to continue.
To declare e-mail bankruptcy, a person will delete all unread messages, claiming it is impossible to keep up with his or her incoming mail with an overly-full inbox.
Egan asserts that e-mail bankruptcy is not the solution: "A person will declare financial bankruptcy only in dire situations, and even then people seek financial counseling to rework money management practices," says Egan. "Offering e-mail bankruptcy as a casual quick-fix not only is bad advice, it also guarantees that a person’s e-mail overload will return."
In
Lessig’s strategy, he advises the e-mail bankrupt to send a reply message to every unread e-mail, requesting that important messages should be resent. By prompting a return message, Lessig’s suggestion ultimately re-clutters one’s inbox and unfairly burdens others with a superfluous message. At the same time, deleting messages without informing senders will lead to lost information, business opportunities, and important contacts.
"The only productive means to deal with an overwhelming amount of inbox messages is to improve e-mail management habits, not give up and e-mail everyone about it," says Egan. "You can avoid e-mail bankruptcy by establishing a personal plan that allots a set amount of time each day to sort messages until your inbox is clear."
Egan is the original founder of "Inbox Detox," a program that teaches individuals and companies how to develop an e-mail productive culture. Her tips cover the best practices to receive and send e-mail messages, so businesses function more productively and help each other avoid e-mail overload.
Some of her steps include:
1. Create e-folders to hold action items - avoid using your inbox as a "to do" list.
2. Rename received e-mails so that you can search them more effectively.
3. Return e-mail requests with phone calls.
4. Avoid the tendency to "work" newly received e-mails if they are less important than your current project.
5. Open your e-mail with the intention of sorting your new items, rather than "knocking the easy ones off."
6. Sort your e-mail in order from top to bottom or bottom to top. Avoid scrolling.
7. Copy only the people who really need to see your message.
8. Use "if/then" verbiage. e.g. "Please e-mail me if you haven't received the package" rather than "Did you receive the pkg?"
9. Turn off automatic send/receive and all dings and flashes. Open your e-mail when it is right for you.
10. Send less e-mail. The more e-mail you send, the more e-mail you'll get!
For more tips and helpful information, visit
http://eganemailsolutions.com. To schedule an interview with Marsha Egan, contact Rebecca Corliss at 617-717-8294 or Rebecca@IctusInitiative.com.
Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC, is CEO of the Egan Group, Inc., Reading PA. An ICF Certified Professional Coach and an internationally recognized public speaker, she is a leading authority on e-mail productivity. She works with forward thinking organizations that want to create a profit-rich e-mail culture. Her recently released eBooks,
Help! I've Fallen into My Inbox and Can't Climb Out and
Reclaim Your Workplace Productivity, along with web based e-learning tool "E-mail Savvy: Enhancing Personal Productivity" can be found at
http://eganemailsolutions.com.
###
(marsha@marshaegan.com)
President and CEO
The Egan Group, Inc.
2 Seven Springs Drive
Reading, PA 19607
Phone : 610-777-3795
Fax : 610-879-2073
Courtesy FeaturesUSA.com