Archive for June, 2010

Facebook and Email Overload reduction

Posted on June 28th, 2010 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

Of course Facebook can do a lot of different things for different people; and different people eye it with enthusiasm, hostility, and anything in between. Some say it can consume hours each day, and thus reduce your productivity; others say it will eventually replace email in the workplace (as it is already in process of doing in the world of Gen Y and those who want to communicate with them). We’ll see in the interesting next few years… For my part, I find Facebook a pleasant way to keep in touch – lightly – with my friends. My personal strategy.. Read more

How to avoid email mania without annoying your customers

Posted on June 18th, 2010 · Posted in Individual Solutions

Here is a question I was asked by an attendee at one of my lectures. I was teaching the importance of not using email like Instant Messenger, of reading it only a few times a day in preset slots. The guy wanted to know how can he do this, when his customers expect him to respond instantly? Won’t they be annoyed (to use a mild term)? He would prefer to suffer than to upset his customers! He certainly had a point. In my experience if you cut your email reading just like that, cold turkey, some of your correspondents will.. Read more

Reading email or Understanding email?

Posted on June 12th, 2010 · Posted in Impact and Symptoms, Individual Solutions

Considering the amount of time we all spend reading incoming email, it’s amazing how little we understand what we read. That reading and understanding are two different things is clear; this is why legal documents use verbiage like “I confirm that I have read and understood the terms & conditions bla bla bla”… but it’s amazing how easy it is to read a mail message and totally miss large chunks of it. People glance at the message, form an impression of what it means to them, and move on – after all, they may have 100 others waiting to be.. Read more

Five characteristics of Information Overload in Small Businesses

Posted on June 6th, 2010 · Posted in Impact and Symptoms

Last week I lectured on Information Overload at a seminar for small business entrepreneurs. This is a very diverse, lively and interesting population segment, brimming with energy and originality. I had an interesting time talking to people making a living from areas as different as marriage (and, alas, divorce) counseling, organic food production, web site development, optometry, software coding and interior design. These people were young and old, male and female, technically trained or not; but they had one thing in common: all were victims of massive Information Overload. Which is strange, in a way: you’d think someone running a.. Read more