Tony Hsieh's Email "Trick"
Written by Anthony Demangone
Gather 1,000 American workers and ask them this question: How many of you feel like you can adequately manage your email? My guess is that nearly all would say that they cannot. There are too many emails.
Well, Tony Hsieh of Zappos has found a way to solve the problem...for him. You can watch him describe the "trick" in this video. (Inc.com, with an annoying, mandatory ad before Tony speaks.)
What is his trick? He doesn't answer today's emails today. He answers yesterday's emails today. Today's emails? He'll get to those tomorrow.
What does that system accomplish?Â
- One of the most annoying things about email is that they just keep coming. But not yesterday's emails. They stopped at midnight. So when Tony attacks his in-box, there's a finite number of emails, and he knows when he's gone through them.Â
- Another problem with email is the start/stop nature of managing your in-box. Tony's system allows him to set a block of time to manage email. Once he's finished with yesterday's emails, he's done. He can focus on other things.Â
The downside is responsiveness. Tony will not respond today to a message he received today. But...
- Is that really a problem?Â
- If it is a problem, is it bigger or smaller than the overall problem of managing email?Â
Tony didn't discuss how, but he's had to set up a system to address how to get his attention if something big is happening. But I can think of a few ways to deal with that. Like the telephone. Or talking with his assistant.Â
Anyway, what do you guys think? Â Brilliant? Won't work? Somewhere in the middle?Â
If you enjoyed this, you might be interested in the following...
- Today's Email Dilemma: Should I be thoughtful, or responsive? (Musings.)
- 10 Rules for Email (Musings.)
- Benjamin Franklin, Habits and Email. (Musings.)
- A Different Take on Email and Meetings. (Musings.)
- The Email Charter. (The Email Charter.)
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