Has anyone out there cracked the code on how to best manage your email inbox? If so, call me! My inbox over-floweth to the point of no return. I’m at the point where I can’t take a day off because if I do, I crash the email server – not really but it’s almost that bad. The most difficult thing about email is that in today’s world it is a little ‘reactive’. We are a society built on instant gratification and response. With email, you send something, not knowing if someone will read it or respond to it. And it often requires a lot of follow up. But, without it, I am unproductive at best.
I long for the day when life will be simpler and I won’t be so dependent on technology. But for now, it serves a critical purpose and so I am trying to accommodate for it. Things are starting to get a little easier though. There are now ways to leverage my desktop via my work’s communication solution so that I can check someone’s availability without having to tap into my email system. It’s an instantaneous view of someone’s status called ‘presence’. And the best thing about it is that I not only see the status of the people I work with that are on the same network, but can view the status of colleagues and vendors that are external to my organization. It’s great!
So now, instead of picking up the phone and having to leave voicemail, or sending an email and not knowing when I’ll get a response, I simply watch their status on my screen and wait until they are available to take action. Seems like a no-brainer to me to use this technology – it’s such a time saver. Time I so badly need to follow up on emails!
Read about how presence and the other great time-saving benefits of Avaya IP Office helped one small business by visiting a Day in the Life: Small Business at http://bit.ly/kyaIlu.