Does your phone have an endless stream of notifications and messages all day every day? I’ve noticed how easy it is for executives to fall into bad habits because of a desire to prove to be responsive or to try and chase that elusive inbox-zero goal.
Don’t send weekend or evening email unless it is mission critical. Save it in your drafts, and send it in regular business hours or auto-schedule it for sensible hours. Off-hours email generates more off-hours email. Same applies to your slack/skype/FB/Twitter/IG/LI threads that you have happening with your work colleagues. Others may feel obliged to respond, and you will develop expectations that you are always on and available. Chapter six of my two-time award-winning book Thoughtfully Ruthless is full of tips on how to proactively manage your inbox and calendar, you can download a free chapter here.
Whether intentionally or not, you have set a pattern of behavior with your team around responsiveness. Ask yourself this: is it realistic? Do you have clear lines of escalation and support in case of emergency issues? What guidelines can you put in place today that will improve the “always online” demands for your team?
Your team will thank you for it.
Val