Email Lets Other People Schedule Your Life—Here’s How to Stop It 拒绝生活围着电邮转

菲尔·西蒙 章逍然

If you feel like you’re playing Whac-a-mole with your inbox， you’re not alone. Somewhere along the line1， email became the default means of communication in corporate America. The Radicati Group2 estimates that the average knowledge worker receives around 100 emails every day， a number that is rising at around 15% per year.

Think about it. If you work 50 hours per week， then 14 of them are spent reading and writing emails. I doubt that you spend as much time in any one application， including Microsoft Word and Excel.

Perhaps these numbers wouldn’t be problematic if email were an effective communications medium. To be sure， it can be—for certain types of discrete exchanges. Much of the time， however， it’s not. Yes， email has its place， but we’ve become far too enamored with it. Constantly checking it makes us stupid.

For years， email has been scourge of business communications. Yet far too many of us blame email for our woes. We love blaming “technology” because but it’s harder for us to look in the mirror. If we do， then we’ll realize that the problem isn’t email; it’s how we use it.

The goal is not to eliminate all email altogether， although some employees have essentially done just that. The goal is to use it more intelligently. Think of email as just one club in the bag.

How to begin？

Reject the notion of a “conversation” over email

There is no such thing as a real conversation over email. Period3. The back-and-forth of emails and text messages offer the appearance of intimacy. Unfortunately， it’s a false one， as Justin Kruger of New York University and Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago proved.

The two psychologists showed that people could only accurately determine sentiment in text-based communications about half of the time. Emoticons and emojis aside， others often can’t tell when we’re being sarcastic， serious， or comical. Misunderstandings often result. Are you willing to flip a coin that others fully understand your message？

Abide by a three-email rule

Once you’ve accepted this fact， then it’s time to take action. I abide by a three-email rule： After three， we walk4. What’s more， I am not shy about invoking it for administrative matters （such as setting up meetings） and sensitive matters （such as difficult conversations）.

The rule has saved me a great deal of time and frustration. To be fair， though， not everyone likes it. I invoked it a few months ago and a perennially “busy” friend of mine promptly responded with， “I hate you.” Every organization in the world should adopt it. Sure， one can see the case for legitimate exceptions， but it’s high time to change our “default to email” mind-set.

Ban “urgent” emails in your company

If an issue truly is urgent， then employees should not be sending emails to one another. Opt instead for the phone.

Use something other than email to manage your tasks

Email wasn’t designed as a task-management application， yet many employees use email for precisely this purpose. As a result， it is it any wonder that they become distracted？ You check your inbox for an update on a key project or task only to get derailed by a stream of unrelated work or personal messages？ It’s easy to get distracted and forget what you were trying to do in the first place.

For task management， use a separate application. I’m a big fan of Todoist， but DropTask， GetFlow， HiTask， and scores of others offer a superior way to work. There’s no single replacement for email; it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. The same holds true for project-management. Trello， Asana， and Basecamp are just some of the affordable， user-friendly tools that minimize the need for incessant email chains.

Look for communication canaries in a coalmine5

Few， if any， people take a job with complete freedom. As such， they are often unable to choose their existing colleagues， clients， partners， and staff. When assessing a potential relationship， though， things are different. Some people are too “busy” to be bothered with quick phone conversations. They would rather send 10 messages than talk to you for two minutes in person.

In these cases， pay close attention to how others communicate （read： words， methods， and the like）. Ask yourself if you really want to interact with people who are averse to phone conversations and simple language. Try to vet job applicants， potential partners， and vendors early on. If they are averse to phone conversations， then what are the odds that they will change their tune down the road？

Realize that there is life beyond email

Are you afraid of moving away from your inbox？ It’s understandable， but your organization wouldn’t be exactly be trailblazing. Companies like Klick Health do not use email internally. As its current CEO Leerom Segal frequently says， “Email is the ultimate tool for letting other people prioritize your day for you.”

如果感覺处理收件箱就像在“打地鼠”，那你绝非个例。不知何时起，电邮成为了美国默认的职场交流方式。据瑞迪卡迪公司估计，知识工作者现在平均每天收到约100封邮件，且这个数字正以每年约15%的速度增加。

试想，如果每周工作50小时，那就有14小时花在了读写邮件上。我怀疑，即使在微软的Word和Excel等应用软件上也花不了这么长时间。

如果电邮是有效的交流媒介，那这些数据反映出的问题或许还不大。确实，个别看，它在某些交流上很好用，但是，多数情况下没那么有效。电邮确有其用，可我们过于迷恋它了，频繁查看邮件会让我们变傻。

多年来，电邮在公务交流中制造了很多麻烦，但太多人将其归咎于电邮本身。我们乐于批判“科技”，就因为自省更难。若稍加反省，我们便会意识到问题不在电邮，而在于我们如何使用它。

有些员工已经彻底抛弃了电邮，但我们的目的并非如此。我们是要更合理地使用它，将它视作一种可选的工具。

如何开始呢？

别指望通过电邮“交谈”

电邮绝无可能架构起真实的交谈。电邮和短信来往会展现出貌似亲密的联系。可惜，纽约大学的贾斯汀·克鲁格教授和芝加哥大学的尼古拉斯·埃普利教授已经证明，那不过是假象。

根据这两位心理学家的研究成果，当人们通过文本交流时，仅有一半几率能准确判断文字中包含的情感。抛开表情符号，收信人常常无法辨别发信人的语气究竟是嘲讽、严肃还是滑稽的。误解往往由此产生。如果对方准确理解信息的概率就像掷硬币一样，你还愿意用这种方式交流吗？

遵从“三封电邮”规则

一旦接受了上述事实，就该立刻行动起来。我一直遵从“三封电邮”规则：如果三封电邮还解决不了问题，就放弃。我也从不羞于将其贯彻到处理行政事务（如组织会议）和敏感事件（如艰难的对话）中。

这一规则为我节省了大量时间，也减少了很多挫败感。不过，公平地说，不是所有人都喜欢。比如，几个月前，我采用了一回“三封电邮”规则，一位永远很“忙”的朋友迅速给我反馈：“我恨你。”世界上每个机构都应该采用这一规则。正当的例外情况当然存在，但真的是时候改变“默认通过电邮处理”的思维定式了。

在公司中禁止“紧急”邮件

如果事情真的紧急，员工就应当选择电话而非电邮进行交流。

用其他方式替代电邮处理工作

发明电邮并非为了处理工作，可工作卻恰恰成了很多员工使用它的目的。结果他们因此分心也就不足为奇了吧。打开收件箱时，本想查看一个关键项目或工作的进展，却被一大堆毫不相关的工作和私人邮件打乱计划，这样的情况有吧？电邮极易使你分心，让你忘记最初打开邮箱的目的。

你可以选用其他应用软件来处理工作。我是Todois的铁杆粉丝，工作中使用DropTask、GetFlow、HiTask等软件也都比邮件高效。若想用一种应用全面取代电邮不太可能，用什么取决于你要完成什么任务。同样，在项目处理方面，Trello、Asana和Basecamp都可选择，此外还有很多同类应用，不仅便宜、好用，而且可以最大程度减少对频繁电邮往来的需求。

寻找交流中的危险信号

几乎没有谁的工作是完全自由的。严格来说，人们往往无法选择现有的同事、客户、工作伙伴和员工。然而，当评估潜在关系时，情况就截然不同了。有些人“忙”到简短通话都无暇应付，宁愿发10条信息也不愿亲自和你谈上两分钟。

遇到这样的情况，先密切关注他人是如何交流的（注意他们的用词、方式等）。自问是否真的想和这些厌恶通话、不喜欢使用简单语言的人交流。然后，尽早以此审查求职者、潜在工作伙伴和卖方。如果他们抗拒通话，那他们日后改变态度的概率又有多大？

意识到电邮之外尚有生活

你会害怕远离收件箱吗？这可以理解，但你所在的机构不一定是这一尝试的先驱。可立格等公司在内部不使用电邮。可立格现任首席执行官里罗蒙·塞格尔常说：“电邮是让别人掌控你日常的终极工具。”    □

（译者单位：复旦大学）