I’ve been listening to a lot of talk about inbox management techniques. I think I’ve stumbled on the optimal solution. People don’t send e-mail if they know you’re not listening.
It’s not enough to ignore their e-mail. If you don’t reply, they will either 1) optimistically assume you haven’t had time to read it or 2) conclude you’re a jerk.
Instead, you have to tell them you’re not listening. I recommend an on vacation message or it’s out of the office equivalent.
I will be working out of the office May 7-8th and will have limited access to emails during that time. If you need immediate assistance, please contact Sandra O’Shaughnessy by email or at ext 1234.
Keep it up until e-mail volume is at acceptable levels or leave it up permanently to enhance your guise of significance Change messages to keep them guessing.
Some will cry, “But what if it’s important!?!?” If they can’t be bothered to track you down, then it’s not important. If all of our e-mail was important, we wouldn’t be bitching so loudly about how much we receive!
Try to find solutions like this on Lifehacker…
- Bandit (improving productivity since 2005)
