atkinson advisor

Entrepreneur ran an article recently about the impact of excessive communication interruptions in the workplace. The article was titled “Blunt the e-mail interruption.”

A few of the findings from the article:

• E-mail volume is growing at a rate of 66 percent a year.
• The average employee checks e-mail 50 times a day and responds to 77 instant messages.
• University of Minnesota researchers discovered that frequent interruptions caused error rates on other work to double.

Research suggests the brain can focus successfully on one task at a time and that frequent switching reduces productivity. The Entrepreneur article highlights how several companies have purposefully created time without interruptions to improve productivity.

The opposing school of thought is that businesspeople cannot afford to unplug given the volume of information that is important to our everyday business lives and the speed with which that information is moving. The proponents of this approach are more apt to embrace social media and the constant connectedness that it brings.

What do you think? Is multitasking good or bad?

Next time you have to collect opinions about an issue, try using the voting buttons option in Microsoft Outlook.

After composing your e-mail in Outlook, click Options and then check the box next to Use Voting Buttons. You can enter any options you want.

The buttons will appear on a separate toolbar – not in the body of the e-mail. Recipients will see a message at the top of the e-mail asking them to vote.

This solution only works on computers connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server.

Next time you want to write an e-mail that gets answered, try these tips from Chris Brogan.

• Include the action requested in the subject line. For example, start the subject line with “For review” or “Decision needed.”
• Be brief. E-mails with a short list of numbered questions are more likely to get answered than ones that hide the questions in a big block of text.
• Make every e-mail definitive. When bringing it to a close, be clear about what you need and include enough information so the other person can give you an answer. If you’re trying to schedule a meeting, include some available dates and times instead of leaving it open ended.

See more of Chris’ tips for writing effective e-mails.

A BlackBerry is one way to stay connected to the world. A “BlackBerry Thumb” is one thing you never want to get.

The American Society of Hand Therapists coined the term several years ago as a catch-all phrase for cases of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome caused by BlackBerries and other technology.

BlackBerry Thumb and related technology-related injuries have become more common in the workplace. Typing with the wrong hand position, using a mouse incorrectly, and holding a cell phone with your shoulder can cause a series of repetitive-stress injuries that result in insurance claims and missed days at work.

Here are some common problem situations that can be easily prevented:

• Elevating the back of the keyboard – The natural position of your hand is that your fingers should be lower than your wrists. If you lift the back of your keyboard up, you are forcing your wrists to bend upwards, unnaturally, and your fingers end up higher than your wrists. Typing like this over extended periods of time can cause painful wrist injuries.
• Using BlackBerry to respond to all emails – If you can, only respond to urgent emails on your BlackBerry. Leave non-urgent emails for when you are at your computer.
• Fingers above the wrist when using a mouse – Your wrist should be above your fingers to eliminate risks.
• Cradling your cell phone with your shoulder – Cervical radiculopathy is disk compression in the neck, often caused by repetitive cradling of a phone on the shoulder.

Read more about preventing injuries at work at about.com

Next time you get an email that requires a future action, try setting a reminder as you would for a calendar item. The reminder will appear when it’s time to work on that email. Setting the reminder is easy. When the email is open, click the follow up flag (the red flag) on the menu bar. Set the “Due By” row to the date and time that you want the reminder to appear.

The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Email Before It Manages You
by Mike Song, Vicki Halsey, Tim Burress, and Ken Blanchard

The Hamster Revolution tells of the story of Harold, an HR director who is so overwhelmed by email he feels like a hamster on wheel. An efficiency coach teaches Harold a simple system for email management that helps him reclaim his life and boost his productivity.

Harold learns easy-to-implement tactics for eliminating needless emails, writing better messages, and quickly filing and finding information. The tactics included:

• Block out 30-minute periods to answer emails in batches
• Disable email notifications (the sound or visual image your computer generates when new emails arrive)
• Consider a meeting or conference call instead of sending an email that’s likely to result in a long back-and-forth discussion
• Begin using NRN (No Reply Needed) and/or NTN (No Thanks Needed) in the subject line – just be sure your team understands what NRN and NTN mean

The Hamster Revolution includes a case study that shows how 2,000 Capital One employees reduced their email time by 23 percent. This quick and engaging read will help you manage your email before it manages you.