Email: The Great Unburdening

Email.

Over the past 2 years we have had so many conversations with clients regarding email. The once useful communication tool, today, seems to be a primary cause of stress and frustration. Email combined with other “helpful” communication tools are inundating employees and the problem seems to have compounded post pandemic and as people continue to work from home.

Over the weekend I had time to reflect (change of seasons is always a spark for reflection). I am grateful for so many things but one that came to mind this weekend was the peace I feel at work. Not that long ago I felt the overwhelm. The piling on of communication. It was a weight I didn’t even know I was fully carrying until I walked away. From the moment I said I was making a change my body felt lighter. Freeer. Happier. It was a physcial reaction that is difficult to describe. It was like my entire body said “thank you”.

So what are we doing different at Switch?

We are a small business so we have our own unique opportunities and challenges when it comes to communication but as I think about what we are doing differently, here are some things that keep my still busy body feeling less weighed down:

• We email very little. We talk a lot.
• We have scheduled and unscheduled in person conversations to provide updates, ask questions, gain clarity and best yet to brainstorm and be creative.
• We text daily updates, ideas and inspirations (short and sweet).
• We use collaboration tools like Teams and GoogleDocs to work together when we aren’t together.
• We use tools like Calendly to easily schedule with each other and so our clients can get on our calendars no matter what time they are thinking about it.
• We put family first. While our business and our clients are incredibly important, we know and understand that if things are tough at home, it can be a distraction.
• We communicate challenges and are flexible and nimble to allow for life as it happens.

These are the things that work for us. Our ability to communicate the good and bad. The challenges and the successes allow us to get out of our heads (and our inboxes) and fully focus on our clients. If we aren’t present, we can’t be as effective as our clients need us to be. We work every day to practice what we call the conditions of success. Removing obstacles, getting inspired and being vulnerable so we can do our best work.

What tools are you using to get out from under the overwhelming swell of email?