02 January 2010
This year at Semantic I've decided to run a couple of small experiments... to see if we can't get even better in 2010. I'm calling this the Semantic Business Lab (BLab)... mostly because it makes me smile... but partly because I want to try some things out this year, test the results, build on what works, and dump or rethink what doesn't.Our aim, as ever is to improve the Semantic experience, both for our clients and ourselves. I look forward to sharing what we learn.
Semantic BLab 1: Email Batching
In fact any of you who have emailed me (nick@semantic.co.uk) since New Year will have unwittingly become part of my first experiment (cue EVIL LAUGH). As you'll have seen I now have an auto responder set up on my Nick@Semantic email that reads:
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Hey there friend, thanks for the note,
During January, in an effort to focus on upcoming deadlines, I am checking and responding to business email only at 11am and 4pm, weekdays. It's an experiment!
If your message is really URGENT please don't rely on email, call me on 02380 111 542. If I'm not in the office (and no one else is either) your voicemail will be forwarded directly to my mobile, and I'll respond as soon as I am able.
Many thanks,
Nick
P.S. If you are interested in the experiment read the background on our blog.
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So here we are, on the blog...
Why this experiment?
In December 2009 I received 642 emails (excluding spam) in 18 working days... on average that's an "interruption" every 5.5 working minutes.
Digging into these Numbers
Over Christmas I did some analysis of these emails, as well as looking at the work I did at the time. On one hand I was being pulled into my Inbox 20-30 times a day... on the other ONLY 7 of those emails were actually URGENT. That's just a smudge over 1%... and in 5 of those cases the sender had already called me, or called soon afterward.
Surely we can and should do better than this. When did email stop making life easier and become a crutch? The tail is wagging the dog.
New Rules of Engagement
So, in 2010 I'm officially standing up to my Inbox... and focusing on client work.
During January I will check email twice daily. I think that's fair, especially as urgent things are better discussed over the phone anyway. If the call is out of hours, or I am away from my desk, the voicemail gets routed to my mobile... and I'll respond as soon as I am able.
Of course all of the email still gets looked at (and responded to where appropriate), just in 2 scehduled batches rather than 20-30 little ones.
What's next
Of course I'll be sharing the results of this experiment with all our clients. If this causes any disasters I'll let you know, as well as detailing the positive benefits if any. Look out for a blog post in the first week of February (www.semantic.co.uk/blog).
Thanks for your support.
(Updated 2nd February 2010: The Results are in).
Posted by Nick Warren at 2:55 PM
