better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

The 24-Hour Email Trap

26 June 2016

Email is wonderful. Imagine going back to the C19th and having to write letters, or asking your butler to pop a calling card round to the local coffee house to secure your place for the afternoon business discussion and gambling party. Life was simple then. Today we have online connectivity and are in touch with the world at the push of a button.

The trouble is it’s difficult to escape from the rolling tide of messages and spam and invitations to send our details to a dubious bank, in order to claim our missing millions.

Contact is great and yet it can be stifling and we can forget that life is precious and our days short in number.

I’ve noticed that there is a tendency for me to keep checking my smart phone and reply to people instantly. If 24 hours lapses before a reply I feel a bit guilty that I’ve been sluggish and my fantasy is that they’re waiting for me, growing impatient at my sloth.

However, following a calm weekend of reading in the sunshine, I decided to free myself from the 24-hour email trap. I gave myself space to breathe and realised that what’s important is balancing my life with my business needs. Since then I’ve allowed myself to have whole weekends without replying to emails and I must be honest, it feels great!

If someone needs an instant reply then of course I remain responsive to their needs. And I’m also responsive to my needs too. So far business hasn’t suffered and nobody has complained, so I’m going to keep on with my freedom.

We can all put ourselves first and we can all free ourselves from the 24-hour email trap.

And if you want to email me to agree, then please don’t do so for at least three days. Avoid the trap!

Next week: Being important