Escape From Email Hell - Chapter 1

Are you in Email Hell? Know someone who is? Keep reading.

You know Ed. He's a middle-aged man in a middle-sized company who gets tons of email. Whether you are drowning in email or skillfully riding the wave, you'll find something in his story that takes a little stress out of your email. So let's join Ed.

It was a dark and stormy night . . . Oh, wait; that's just the "music" on my iPod. I'm sitting here in my cube that's so small I can't spin my chair around without hitting something. At times even with my earbuds in, I can hear three or four conversations going on. People even check their voice-mail by putting it on speaker. The nerve!

But that's not the worst of it. Oh, my God, I just opened my Inbox and found I have gone over the 4000 messages mark. It grows every day. I've tried and tried but nothing seems to work. I think I may need to quit this job so I can get my email under control. And it's not much better at home. With 5 personal addresses, just checking them is a pain. And half of the messages are just JUNK! This whole email thing has got me stressed out. I want to slap the guy that invented it.

That night, after Ed goes to sleep . . .

I'm drowning . . . Can't get my breath . . . Waves crashing over me again and again . . . I'm sinking in an endless sea of emails . . . God help me!

And an angel appears.

Who are you?

You don't need to know my given name. Call me "The email angel".

Where I am?

You are in email hell.

Hell?

That's right. You are stuck in an endless pattern where your email load gets greater and greater with each passing day. If you don't do something, it will kill you.

Kill me?!

Yes. The constant stress will eventually give you a heart attack and you will die prematurely.

But I've tried and tried and tried and nothing works.

Do not fear, that's why I'm here. I have been sent to help you escape from email hell. Understand, I can show you the way but you must follow the path.

The email angel hands Ed a business card.

Front side: Get Out of Email Hell Free

Back side: Declare Email Emancipation Day.

Move all the email in your Inbox to a folder called Freedom.
Send an email to everyone and tell them what you've done.

Then the angel said, “You cannot use the card more than once a year without endangering your reputation”. The dream ended and Ed woke up feeling like he had a new lease on life.

So what about you? Do you need to declare Email Emancipation Day? Do you ever feel like you're in Email Hell? If so, try it: Declare Email Emancipation Day.

Here is Ed’s email to help get you started. Feel free to use all or part of it.

Dear All:

Because of the volume of emails I receive and my bad habits in managing them, my Inbox was too full. So, I have taken a bold step in managing them. I deleted all the emails from my Inbox. If you had previously sent me an email about something you need me to respond to, please resend it.

Thanks,

Ed

For some this is the only way out. Not everyone needs to do this but those of you who do, know who you are. It's simply too distracting to try and change your habits with thousands of messages in your Inbox. Once you get some good habits in place you may want to revisit your "Freedom" folder (or not). Just like other forms of communication, emails have a shelf life. When they get too stale, they are pretty much worthless. So why not try it. You're not going to read all those emails anyway. This is a great step not only for you but to the authors of all those emails. It's going to feel great looking at that empty Inbox.

In Chapter 2, we’ll see how Ed fares after declaring Email Emancipation Day.

Note: the first time I remember hearing about this idea was from Merlin Mann of 43folders.com. Check out his blog for other great ideals including the Hipster PDA .

Comments

[Shirley]

Hi. I like the concept and except for a few minor typos I don't see anything major (you are apparently already catching these as I write).

The one thing I am concerned about for "Ed" is the same thing that crossed my mind when I read this over at 43folders - unless "Ed" has made a plan for how to better manage his inbox then it is as if he has consolidated his bills into a single loan but left his credit cards available - that is, he hasn't solved the problem, he has just moved it out of the way temporarily. I hope I am not spoiling a future chapter where he grapples with this issue! Learning how to deal with the flow of messages on an ongoing basis is where "Ed" (all of us?) need the help!. Thanks ./sab