Email and Slack ARE KILLING ME!

I know I’m not alone.

I feel the comfort of knowing I’m not alone, but what are we doing about it? There is so much information, so many requests, so many “Quick Questions” coming my way.

It’s out of control. There seem to be no rules. But it seems that so many people agree that meetings are bad, email is a horrible way of working, and Slack is like that super annoying guy peering over the cubicle wall every 5 minutes to show you the latest tik-tok video.

So – here are some rules. It doesn’t matter if you are a customer, a vendor, someone important, or someone who thinks they aren’t important – these are the rules.

Rule #1: Never email on the Weekend

Email on the Weekend forces people to respond over the Weekend. What’s better than that? Write the email and set a timer to send for 8 am on Monday. That way, you aren’t caught in an endless email chain – and there won’t be any resentment of having to work while at your kid’s football (soccer) game.

Rule #2: Slack is NOT a Work Management System

Slack is not the answer if your slack message is longer than two sentences OR the response required takes more than 1 minute. Please don’t use it.

Slack is often misused as a way of tracking work rather than just an easy way to communicate quickly. I love that Slack can track conversations with individuals. However, Slack should have an instruction book on when to use it. And when not to use it.

Rule #3: Meetings are not the enemy

People seem to hate meetings. And I know why – they are usually not productive, wandering, and often end in no clear direction or directive. However, meetings are critical to our new working era. If led well, meetings can facilitate communication and connection and cut through misunderstandings lost in circular emails, separate slack threads, and water cooler gossip. So I agree with this article that meetings can help build culture, solve issues, and create accountability through connection.

If you want a slightly different perspective, I suggest reading this article by Jason Fried (of Basecamp). Psst. He hates meetings.

If you do find that you want to set a torch to your calendar and kill all meetings, I would suggest reading this article on ways to make meetings more productive. But don’t worry; the article starts by saying that all meetings suck.

Rule #4: Don’t use Emails as NOT-Its

If you send someone an email with the intent to ask them to do something for you or help you, then set them up to be successful. It seems obvious, but I can’t tell you how few people send me emails that don’t require me to ask obvious questions like, “What’s the name of the company we are talking about?” Again, it seems so crazy to me, but if you (as the email writer) can include a link to a Salesforce record or System of Record that you have access to – then you are working to save the email receiver’s time.

If you attempt to help the reader, you care about their time. But, on the other hand, if you are sending incomplete emails, which leads to a “cat and mouse” back and forth with the facts, then you are merely trying to get something off your plate and put it on someone else’s plate. AND THAT’S NOT COOL. 

Just be cool and spend the extra 30 seconds to give the email recipient enough to be successful for you. I promise to do that for you; if I don’t, you can send me this article.

Executive Summary

• The ease of communication has made prioritizing and focusing on work incredibly difficult.
• We recommend four rules to improve productivity and efficiency.
• Rule #1: Avoid sending emails on the weekend to prevent unnecessary interruptions and allow for uninterrupted personal time.
• Rule #2: Use Slack wisely and avoid using it as a work management system. Keep messages short and use it for quick communication rather than tracking work.
• Rule #3: Meetings, if conducted well, can be beneficial for communication, building culture, and problem-solving despite their negative reputation.
• Rule #4: When sending emails requesting assistance, provide all necessary information and context to save the recipient’s time and avoid back-and-forth exchanges.

Originally Posted on Feb 24, 2020