Free Yourself from the Tyranny of Email

[Ed Hardy]

Brighthand's Ed Hardy warns that, although mobile email is a wonderful thing, it must be used in moderation or it can take over your life.

Read more at http://www.brighthand.com/article/Fr...elf_from_Email

[imported_eugarps]

Ed,

I couldn't agree more! That's the reason I'm selling my all-by-new unbranded Treo 650. I found that I can live without my email fix and get along with my Motorola V600 plus my |T3|. That way I can leave home without the "Chain."

Best,

[imported_palmsolo]

Amen Ed,

I was just thinking the same thing and posted a little thought about it on my blog today. My Treo 650 too is close to going on the auction blocks as I realize I don't need so many devices and need to start spending more time with my wonderful wife before I blow it. Chatter Email on the Treo 650 was getting addictive and nothing was really that important that I had to receive it right then. Thanks for the public reminder of what is important in life, great timing for myself

[mbk1487]

No doubt, some people are as addicted to their email as others are to crack. Hence, the Crackberry. It can be VERY addictive and disruptive to interepersonal relationships. Whenever I see a couple out to dinner and one is yapping on a cell phone or clicking away at their Crackberry, it sincerely makes me sad. People should take this to heart. I really think this is one of Ed's best posts....

[klw]

I run my blackberry in silent mode. No vibrate, no blinking lights. That way, I get the best of both worlds: instant email/calendar updates that I look at when I have the time to.

On the weekends, all my devices get turned off (except my T3 of course)...

[imported_SuccessWizard]

People will treat you as you train them to treat you. If you train your boss that it's ok to email you at 10:30 PM and give him a response, then he will always expect it. If he expects it anyway, then looking for a new job is maybe the solution.

I had a boss that told me he wanted me thinking of solutions to marketing issues 24 x 7 -- he wanted me to dream about it. I immediately asked if I would get paid overtime for that type service. I might think or dream, but I won't do it because I'm expected -- that's my time.

Work to live, don't live to work!

[drtolson]

Well said, Ed.

I, too, have watched as collegues spend entire discussions and lunch hours pulling out their blackberries and responding to emails, without realizing how rude they are being to the others at the table. Or believing that saying "I'm sorry" will make everything all right.

I've always been a 'separate device' man, with a PDA for scheduling, contacts, etc.; a phone; and a laptop for emails, etc. Sure, they are integrated and synchronized, but they are not with me all the time. I was starting to think about consolidating down to one device, since the Smartphones were starting to get the kind of functionality I was looking for, but after your article - and the comments of others here on it, I'm starting to have second thoughts.

Maybe I don't need to be that connected.

[Willa]

I'm with SuccessWizard on this one. People will take advantage if you don't set appropriate boundaries. When I come home, I don't turn off my land line and I don't turn off my Blackberry, but I am careful about what calls I take and what messages I respond to - and when.

Some folks are downright compulsive, and maybe those who fall in that camp will get a jolt of recognition after reading your thought-provoking opinion piece, Ed. Maybe they'll even challenge themselves to devote their full attention to the people they are with, instead of to a device. It would be worth hearing from folks who manage to overcome their habitual devotion to communicating electronically to the exclusion of too much that's good in life.

[strider_mt2k]

Great article, Ed.

I think we all need to slow down and smell the flowers in general.

Having to mess with any device in a social situation becomes awkward.

Unless you are in a room full of "sales guys", then the "quick break away" is standard practice as someone ducks out to take a call or handle biz some other way.

Drawing the line between those situations is, for lack of a better description, becoming a fine art.

Blowing off a call or a page while you are with someone also helps get the idea across that they are the ones with your undivided attention.

New social stuff for an evolving tech society I guess.

or somethin'.

[arb]

The question that should be answered here is are you getting paid overtime for after hour email checking? If not, you need to charge it to the company that you work for. The reason I say this is because your boss will expect free work from you and more work from you all of the time. Once your boss sees that this will cost him/her then you will see less email in your inbox after hours. I also suggest keeping a journal with times your boss sends you email with work to be done, that way if you get let go from the company for some reason other then illegal stuff or distasteful things you could set up legal action against the company.

What I do is set my Blackberry to turn off after 6:00pm and turn on at 6:00am and leave my BB at home on the weekends since I don't need it.

The moral of the story is you need to set boundaries between work and life. If you love your boss more than your wife, that's your business, but most people would rather spend time with their family than work.