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Analytics reveals stranglehold of email: it's hell

Sundays, 360 Convos reviews our conversations. It’s a 360 snapshot that looks back approximately four weeks and captures how the posts did for a two week period.*

The week of August 14, the post with the most pageviews was Email hell, struggling with the inbox. This piece talked about letting go of the stranglehold of email.

Giving up email for one day has its upside and downside. The post recommended not taking on everyone else's problems, but prioritizing your own tasks, and taking action before opening up the inbox.

The post did not disclose the hell that that one day created for me with the backlog of unanswered email.

I continue to search for the answer, the quick fix, the nirvana of email dominance.

I continue.

Second place post addressed negotiating without arguing.

Try that for one day.

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DATE	POST’S WEEK OF AUGUST 14
Sunday	The times that define us and the media we use to survive them
Monday	New psychology of negotiating: never argue
Tuesday	Take charge and take five
Wednesday	Email hell, struggling with the inbox
Thursday	Animals in the backyard, which one would you choose?
Friday	Fav quotes of the week and maybe too much coffee
Saturday	Would you like to clean up your desk, or would you like me to?

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*Source: Google Analytics.

Fav quotes of the week and maybe too much coffee

From the blog, 10 Rules to Reverse the Email Spiral:

"Number 8. Use words like EOM and NNTR
If your email message can be expressed in half a dozen words, just put it in the subject line, followed by EOM (= End of Message). This saves the recipient having to actually open the message. Ending a note with "No need to respond" or NNTR, is a wonderful act of generosity. Many acronyms confuse as much as help, but these two are golden and deserve wide adoption." [Read more ...]

By the way, I hate code words like EOM and NNTR.

BUT here's my favorite quotes of the week!

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Found	Source	Quote
Fri, Aug 12	Twitter	“It's funny that people come to Starbucks to sit and talk, not ordering anything.” Chris Martin
Sat, Aug 13	Mashable	“I believe that people get what they deserve, good or bad,” Jonathan Stark, creator of Jonathan's Card in responce to hackers.
Sun, Aug 14	PC World	“Starbucks Pulls Plug on 'Jonathan's Card' Social Experiment.” Paul Suarez
Mon, Aug 15	Twitter	"Is it the recession that is challenging newspapers, or new media?" John Hill
Tue, Aug 16	Twitter	"I wonder if the President is the "Mayor" of the White House #Foursquare http://t.co/AuUVyKb " Noland Hoshino
Wed, Aug 17	Twitter	"Just what I always wanted: masonry paint. (@ Fred Meyer w/ 3 others) [pic]: http://t.co/9cFRBmZ" Steve Woodward, checking in with Foursquare.
Thur, Aug 18	Twitter	"Just sold our last book on Nyplatkaame. What? You don't make bobbin lace or read Finnish? ONLY HERE @C2CBooks!" Mel Sanders, owner of Cover to Cover Books

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Leave your best stuff it in the comments section. Let's share!

Email hell, struggling with the inbox

I had a moment of clarity the other day, I decided that the first task I tackled was not going to be touching my email.

I left the email garden to fend for itself, to grow weeds or bloom brightly without my constant tending to it. I chose not to worry about the steady rain of falling messages. I ignored the raging river of email rapids, and focused instead on other tasks.

The purpose was to chose my priority list and not have it chosen for me based on everyone else's needs as expressed with a missive directed at my inbox. It felt that my grappling with the email item, as soon as they sent it, made the items on their list take precedence over my own.

Reading my email, I concluded, was taking care of everyone else. I needed to take care of me for one day.

On an ongoing basis, I struggle to keep up with the steady email stream. On the surface, it's not overwhelming, it's continuous. It never lets up. It doesn't rest and it doesn't take a holiday.

At my previous job, as advertising sales manager, I oversaw a multi-million dollar budget. From my experience, one could conclude the larger the budget the larger the inbox. At one point I had almost 2,000 emails staring at me. I would console myself by looking over at the monitor of another manager and notice he never filed or deleted any email. Another manager had a whopping 15,000 emails, with 8,000 unread. Admittedly, 15,000 emails probably spells bigger problems than just email. It's like the person who hoards felines but doesn't take care of them.

My personal email would wax and wane depending on which inbox I focused on. I have more than one personal email account.

I'm not the only one.

A recent review of Quora revealed more than one personal email addresses is not unusual. Having only one probably is. Cody Riddar, Founder of Rebel Bits, admits to twelve. Currently 712 people are following the 'number of email address' topic. I would wager that those 712 followers are doing so to avoid their in basket.

Other Quora seekers discuss how many emails coming flying at them a day. That ranges from a low estimate of 130 for Lynette Young, a social technology specialist. She scans three accounts and actively handles or replies to about 40 emails. The remainder she usually skims, trashes or archives.

For others, the average email count is between 200 and 300. Trevor Dyster, reports 250 a day, with 50 directly work related and the remainder related to social media. He manages the influx by keeping his Blackberry switched off at night, which doesn't stop the email, just the email bleep. "Most get deleted as I follow them up through the various platforms."

Food blogger, Julie Niesen Gosdin, says two accounts is enough and she receives "probably 300" emails a day. Most of which "go into the trash."

The result of my 'one-day without email' experiment is inconclusive. I didn't end the day with a sense of satisfaction. It felt more like leaving a ticking bomb and I wondered how communicating became such an explosive device.

How do manage your email accounts?

How often does your inbox read '0?'

30 CONSECUTIVE POSTS