Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

It has been close to a week since I changed my approach to e-mail.  I have received some great feedback on this topic and I’ll be sharing those questions and my answers with you next week.

I am now going to make some of these changes permanent and I’ll share them with you as they move out of “testing” mode and into becoming a permanent part of my work.  Here is the first big change:

No remote e-mail access devices. 

This means no Blackberry*. I have found it to be totally unnecessary.  People who need me urgently, call me on the phone.  If you don’t have my mobile number, there is a good chance I will be of little use to you in an emergency.  My clients can reach me through my office (the staff transfer calls to me wherever I am).

The bottom line for me on the Blackberry was that it was an ego thing at the start.  I felt like I was sooooo important that I needed to send e-mail while waiting on line in the supermarket, or while stopped at a red light or while on the toilet (yes I have no shame). 

There is no need for this.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a man sending an e-mail on his Blackberry from a memorial service!  Folks, I have to tell you, that’s garbage.  Get over yourself.  Lose the Blackberry.

Eventually, the Blackberry evolved into a crutch and then it became an obsession and ultimately an addiction.  Notice that none of those words are positive or helpful.  I felt like it was an electronic leash.  It tethered me to people who were exerting control over me.  (This was not true but it was a subconscious feeling I had).

Here are five benefits from not having a Blackberry (or any remote e-mail device):

• No annoying distractions.  I often found myself compulsively checking the Blackberry just to see what was new in my inbox.  It was like a constant drum beat in the back of my head.  Something saying “What’s in your e-mail, what’s in your e-mail, what’s in your e-mail” over and over and over.  Without the device, I have no way to check the inbox, and the distraction is gone.
• Less premature communication.  I have an enormous sense of urgency.  This would often cause me to communicate directly (and prematurely) from my remote location.  At times I would make decisions and commit to things because I felt the need to respond to people “in the moment”.  This is not a good way to run your business or your life.  Although I have tempered my in-person “in the moment” responses as I have mellowed with age, I seemed to be regressing in this nasty little habit with Blackberry e-mail.  Again. if someone needs an answer from me immediately, they can find me and speak with me live.
• Better conversation.  Guess what.  I talk to people more since I can’t send them a quick note.  Conversations are more intimate.  Intimacy builds trust.  Trust is the foundation for meaningful relationships.  Several people have told me that they feel “closer” to me this past week.  I am no longer a blinking cursor on a screen.  Yes, my frequency of phone contact has increased slightly.  But if the result of this increase in direct conversation is better/more productive/deeper relationships – I’ll take the trade-off.
• Better deals closed faster.  The Blackberry makes it easy to communicate asynchronously.  This means that it takes people time to get the information, read it, process it and then respond to it.  This slows things down.There is also no way to gauge the reaction of the party with whom you are communicating.  There is no social context in e-mail.  Since the Blackberry makes it easy to communicate via e-mail, it suborns impersonal communication.  I closed three transactions last week while I was out of the office.  I did these the “old fashioned way” – by talking to people.
• More control over my life.  I no longer feel as though I am a slave to this remote communication device.  I can play with my nieces without checking the weekly sales progress report.  I feel like I have given myself permission to unplug.

My week without the Blackberry was great.  My productivity is back up to the days when remote communication was limited to a quarter and a pay phone.  This is the first of many changes that I’ll be making as a result of my e-mail addiction rehabilitation.  Stay tuned for periodic updates.

 

*Note:  A Blackberry is a fine device.  Since it is the de-facto standard for remote e-mail communication I am using the brand name in that context.  I am not endorsing or disparaging one product over another. 

Filed under: Personal Productivity
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