Blogs - Archive

Top tips from Mesmo Consultancy (and Associates) on how to save time and improve business and personal performance by ‘Taking Control of your Inbox’ and using proper business email etiquette.

Articles of note – August 2015

Monday August 3rd, 2015, 4:28 pm

Not surprisingly most articles which have caught our attention relate to the challenge of whether or not to disconnect whilst on holiday.  Here are a few which should give you food for thought about why and how to go for an email detox and disconnect.

And  just in case you are careless with your Out of Office message.

  • Cyber insecurity: when 95% isn’t good enough.  This reinforces the fact that the weakest link in the battle against cyber crime is us the human being.  More often than not a breach of security begins with an email and our careless email behavior.

So before you take your vacation, be sure to set a safe and simple Out of Office message which discloses as little information as possible.  Then switch off and have a proper break to re-charge the batteries.

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Reaching inbox zero after taking a vacation

Monday August 3rd, 2015, 3:29 pm

Dealing with the holiday email overload is one of the most stressful aspects of being on vacation according to a survey conducted by Mesmo Consultancy.  This is not surprising when you realise that most business people (and especially executives and PAs) feel that at least 50% of the emails they receive are unnecessary.  One survey recently put it as high as 75%.  Little wonder dealing with the holiday back log can seem quite daunting.

It does not have to be that way.  For those just back from leave and who did not either adopt Mesmo Consultancy’s email detox  plan, or take David Grossman’s (email free vacation pledge) here is a tried and trusted five point plan to reduce the holiday email backlog and quickly reach inbox zero.

Holiday emailoverload 2015

Spending the first hour talking to your colleagues will help you discover far more rapidly what is high priority and needs your attention rather than trawling unprepared through your inbox.

When you tackle the inbox set aside a specific block of time (eg 3 hours).  Group your emails by person, subject, date etc. Use the conversation view (threads) to see the whole picture before replying too quickly.  You may even feel you want to reply only to the emails sent to you rather than where you are Cc’d.

As you open each email, handle it once and once only.  Avoid scanning emails and then having to go back as this wastes time. Action each selected email as you read it using the four Ds principle; deal, delete, delegate or defer action.  In the latter case flag/mark it for attention and tell the sender when they can expect a reply.

Still too much email, then declare email bankruptcy.  You can be very sure that if an email was that important the sender will soon re-send it once they realise you have not responded.

What ways have you found useful to have a clean inbox and reach inbox zero after being on vacation?

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Will You have an email detox this vacation?

Friday July 17th, 2015, 10:29 am

Will you have a digital detox? This time of year sparks the age old debate about whether you should or shouldn’t stay connected to email when on leave. Recent studies have confirmed that email is the biggest drain on business people’s performance. So when it comes to holidays, those concerned with their own well being or that of their employees – should shout ‘Get a life’, disconnect as we all need time to discharge and recharge our batteries properly.

Last year Daimler introduced an email programme which automatically deletes all employees’ emails whilst they are on leave. Digital detox holidays are now on offer. When you arrive at your hotel you can elect to have all Wi-Fi connections disconnected.  In the USA some psychiatrists have now suggested that internet addiction should be treated as a psychiatric disorder.

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Technology alone will not cure email overload despite some software providers claims. The real cure lies in changing our email behaviour. It is about re-thinking how we use email and curing what has become the hidden disease of 21st century working life – email addiction. It’s about learning how to use and manage our time and accept that it is OK to disconnect.

Even without such support, we can all self-impose other strategies including an email black-out.  This  will help while we are away  and when we come back from leave.  The benefit of your time away from the office it is vital to learn to how to wean yourself off your email/internet fix. If you can stop logging on or taking calls, you will relax more quickly and your friends and family will appreciate your undivided attention. You and they are worth it!

If you find it hard to disconnect then at least limit the distractions.

  1. Switch of all you email feeds and at the very least the office one.  Remember we are all dispensable at the end  of the day!
  2. Only log on once/twice a day and preferably at the end of the day – so you don’t ruin everyone else’s day.   Alternatively wait until the last day. Reward yourself for every day you do not log in.

 

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Does deleting emails protect your professional image?

Monday June 22nd, 2015, 6:30 pm

Hilary Clinton used a personal email account rather than her White House one. Now 10 Downing Street admits to automatically deleting its emails after 90 days. As a result some are suggesting that instant electronic messaging systems which self-destruct are the solution like SnapChat and Slack. But are they?

For any technology to succeed and add value to the business, requires that users are properly trained. Sadly though, normally 80% of our time and budget is spent on the technology and its implementation and only 20% on providing the user with adequate skills to use it properly.

How many of you have ever been educated to mange your use of email, little own deploy good email etiquette which would reduce the need to email ping-pong and email gaffs. In Mesmo Consultancy’s experiences it is less that 20%. So little wonder we often find ourselves confronted with consequences of an email we wish we had never sent.

Email disasters

Email disasters

It is naive to think that we can delete an email. Once sent it is there for ever, either stored on a server as News International and Sony Corporation found to their dismay, or still in the recipient’s inbox. Far better is to adopt slow and quiet email. Think before hitting send. Reflect and ask yourself ‘what if someone found this email’.

Without proper training and a change in organisational culture instant electronic messaging communications systems (like Slack and SnapChat) will be doomed to the same failure and disasters as our current version of email.

Need help to change your email culture to make it work for, rather than against you?  Call Mesmo Consultancy to hear how our email training has has helped others.  Alternatively, watch our video on email etiquette.

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Books of note

Sunday June 7th, 2015, 5:16 pm

June books of note

June books of note

Five books caught our attention over the last few weeks.

  1. The Power of Meditation by Sharon Salzberg.  A 28 day plan to reduce stress and induce a calmer approach to life.  It’s relatively jargon free and easy to follow.  Does it work?  Ask us next month!
  2. It’s All in Your Head:True Stories of Imaginary Illness by Suzanne O’Sullivan.  A very controversial book, but provides plenty of food for thought about how we cope with illness and especially some illnesses which some like O’Sullivan, feel are psychosomatic.
  3. The Weather Experiment by Peter Moore.  Part history, part thriller.  The story of the development of weather forecasting techniques and especially the barometer.
  4. A Curious Friendship by Anna Thomasson.  The story of the relationship between the blue stocking Edith Oliver and bright young thing Rex Whistler.  Again a historical drama which is engrossing if not a little long.
  5. Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung: A companion by Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington.  OMG you may well say.  This is because one of the team is going to hear The Ring later this year.

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