It wasn’t even a full moon!
As marvelous as all our technology is, chronic malfunctions and crashes and the constant demand to keep up might account for the fact that at least one in four of us will admit to physically assaulting a device.  There’s even a ratio for judging the attack because the chances of failure are in direct proportion to the urgency of the task they are needed for. Hence the scream heard from my assistant as she tried to get out my summer newsletter before autumn.

It doesn’t get better. The 2009 March/April issue of Psychotherapy Networker says that such chronic, unalleviated stress compromises our cognitive and emotional functions as well as undermining our immune system. Nor does it when a workplace (often unknowingly) contrives urgency by leashing employees with PDAs, laptops, pagers, and anything else for instant access and response.

Well intentioned.  And ultimately a timewaster and a driver of increased health care costs.

What happens is that we continually try to multitask, toggling back and forth, answering the ping of instant messages, and wind up feeling constantly “on”. Instead of concentrating on one task, we unconsciously scan for the next message or task, thus spending often 50% more time on one job before taking on another.

Ways to conquer the beast:

Manage your energy not your time.  You don’t run marathons every day yet we try and do the equivalent at our work.  Studies of energy suggest a 90-minute rhythm. This means stopping and doing something to recovers your energy expenditure. (Coffee and chocolate don’t count. Nor does smoking). Take a 4-minute relaxation break. Walk outside, deep breath, trying biofeedback. Go outside. Drink water. And when it’s time-go home without work.

Program your computer to delete messages after 30 days. If no one has screamed by then, how important could it be?

Send out the equivalent of a “do not disturb” sign, telling folks you will respond from 3-4pm daily. If it’s an emergency-call you.

Turn off rings, pings, dings, and anything that sings.

Distinguish between uninterrupted work time and answer time.

Work with your team to determine the important and urgent from the unimportant.

Cut the cord. If you continue to remain connected all the time-you have only yourself to blame with the constant barrage of requests.

At the end of the day, reset to zero. You did what you could. It’s done. Over. Finito. Do NOT plan tomorrow today. Your brain will start working on it and there goes the sleep.

Shut the door of your office. Turn off the computer. Reset to zero. Tomorrow is a new day.

Do NOT take the PDA to bed with you.  Give it a rest. Give all of us a rest.

Without boundaries, Tyrannosaurus Techno will win again.

(c) 2009, McDargh Communications.  Publication rights granted to all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links are made live.

Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter.  Executive Excellence ranks her among the top 100 thought-leaders in leadership development.  Looking for help with work and life challenges? Visit her professional speaker website today!

Omitting the subject line. We are way past the time when we didn’t realize the significance of the subject line.  It makes no sense to send a message that reads “no subject” and seems to be about nothing.   Given the huge volume of e-mail that each person receives, the subject header is essential if you want your message read any time soon.  The subject line has become the hook.

Not personalizing the message to your recipient. E-mail is informal but it still needs a greeting.  When you are addressing a client, open with “Dear,” “Hello” or “Good Morning,” followed by the person’s name.  When communicating with your boss or someone else in the office, you may skip the salutation, but use the person’s name in your first sentence.

Forgetting to check spelling and grammar. In the early days of e-mail, it may have been okay to use shorthand and forget grammar.  But now you can’t risk sacrificing your professional credibility. If you don’t check to ensure that your e-mail is correct, people will question the caliber of other work you do.

Leaving off your signature.  Always close with your name, even though it is included at the top of the e-mail, and add contact information such as your phone, fax and street address.  The recipient may want to call you to talk further or send you documents that cannot be e-mailed. Creating a formal signature block with all that data is the most professional approach.

Completing the “TO” line first.  The name or address of the person to whom you are writing is actually the last piece of information you should enter. Check everything else over carefully first. Proof for grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity.  If you enter the recipient’s name first, a mere slip of the finger can send a message before its’ time.  You can never take it back.

These five tips for ensuring that your e-mail messages represent you in the most professional manner merely scratch the surface of the issue.  Look for more in this series of “E-mail Errors To Avoid” in the next two weeks.

Lydia Ramsey is a professional speaker, corporate trainer and the author of Manners That Sell: Adding The Polish That Builds Profits. You may call her at 912-598-9812 or visit her web site at http://www.mannersthatsell.com