Audio Blog: Toast
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Some of you have probably heard me talk about this before. Email is a scourge on all of us, most days. I see all kinds of email behavior, all the time - at clients, everywhere I go. And the one thing that surprises me the most, and this goes back to some comments I made in the last couple of years about continuous partial attention, is people being notified every time they get an email. Literally, they are drawn to the email regardless of how good or bad or important it is, because they don't know - they just go and look at the email as soon it comes in.
We recommend checking email three times a day, but example of constantly being distracted by email [and if you are an manager or an executive, you already have enough distractions, because email is not urgent] is the idea of something called "toast". Toast is Microsoft's word for the little reminder that comes up, that comes up in Outlook that slides up, at least in some versions, it slides from the bottom right hand corner of your screen and then slides back down.
And the joke was for a while that it looked like toast popping up. But the real story is they call it toast because if you pay attention to it all the time, you will BE toast. If you are doing that, if you have notifications, if your computer buzzes, or rings, or beeps, or you get a message over all your other work saying "you have new email" you are being distracted...and distractions are the bane of executives. If you pay attention to the toast, you're toast. (Thanks to Kate Horstman for correcting my use of your vs. you're in that last line - H)
So stop it. You will be more effective.
THAT is a brilliant post, with
THAT is a brilliant post, with interesting larger implications.
There certainly has been a lot of energy spent on speed in the past 10 years.
Is wisdom net?
Mark
The wonderful Seth Godin penned a great
The wonderful Seth Godin penned a great post on this topic.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/the-high-cost-o.html
His basic point is about cost. Can you afford to be pinged by e-mail?
Great information. I've been
Great information. I've been encouraging those around me to turn off toast (Desktop Alerts) since I first learns about it a year ago.
I'm a little surprised that you left off the "How To" in this case because Microsoft Outlook has it buried. The good news is that if you search the Microsoft Outlook online help for "toast" you will get the page for turning on or off Desktop Alerts.
Real quick:
1. Select Tools --> Options
2. On the Preferences tab, select E-mail Options
3. Select Advanced E-mail Options
4. Under When new items arrive in my Inbox, clear any and all checkboxes, specifically Display a New Mail Desktop Alert (default Inbox only).
This can also be done from the toast display, but I'll leave you to the Microsoft help to see how to do it from there. (more visual)
As for other programs (e.g., Lotus Notes), I'm not familiar with them. Hopefully searching their help for "toast," "popup," or "desktop alert" will get you the steps you need.
Great post Mark, I totally agree with
Great post Mark, I totally agree with you...In fact I decided to keep closed the outlook program and just open it early at morning and afternoon...
I decided simply not to answer any email not addressed directly to me, or not critical to me, so people around understood that they have to have a good reason to include me in those time-consuming no-sense emails with practically all@company.com copied.
I must recognize that it is a bit tough at the very beggining but quite effective now...
But the email culture deffers from company to company and at least in what I work for I made it...
Hope it can be usefulfor someone else
AleM-
Hi Mark, This is a great audio blog,
Hi Mark,
This is a great audio blog, I've especially enjoyed the wrapping up of the post when You stated that we should not pay attention to the toast or we will be toasted; You've wrapped it out in a golden paper indeed! That's really spot on. I have a question for You though.
I work for IBM and as such I'm obviously obliged to use Lotus Notes instead of Microsoft Outlook. I must also log into Sametime, which is the firm's own-developed instant messaging programme. It is obligatory that I am signed in during the course of the workday. But how do I deal with many messages that I receive? They'll keep on "flashing orange" on my toolbar and inevitably distract me from doing the real work. Signing off during the busy periods would be really helpful, ("busy" or "on the phone" statuses do not really prevent the messages from coming in) but should I take the lead and champion this proposal to the management?
Thank You and have a great week!
Jan Luksa
Great tip and one I would recommend to
Great tip and one I would recommend to all.
Turning of the reminder increased my output considerably. The reduction in distractions alone saved considerable re-booting time to get back on track after (not) dealing with emails as they arrived. The major improvement was regaining control of my day by allowing me to plan and complete activities in a more ordered manner.
Initially colleagues would ask if I got the email he sent 10 minutes ago, assuming I would have acted on it. They got the idea pretty soon resulting in better communications all round.
Chris
If you can’t live without your
If you can’t live without your new mail desktop alert then create rule to have it pop-up for only specific people like your boss, while not popping-up for everyone else.
1. From the Tools menu select Rules and Alerts
2. Select New Rule…, select Start from a blank rule, select Check messages when they arrive, and click Next.
3. In the “Which conditions…†view, check the box from people or distribution list.
4. Click on the link people or distribution list in the Step 2: Edit…box
5. Find the email you want, put the email in the From: field, click OK, and click Next.
6. In the “What to do with this message?â€, check the box display a Desktop Alert.
7. Click Finish
8. Click Tools > Options > Email Options > Advanced Email Options >uncheck all the new email alerts.
This was preaching to the choir for me.
This was preaching to the choir for me. I HATE notifications/reminders for anything other than scheduled appointments.
Another angle might be that because the human brain craves stimulation it's drawn to email because it provides a constant source for new stimuli. Whether it's a personal email from a friend or maybe just some of the internal spam that each of us receives daily, it's new and we're drawn to it.
Reminder service installs by default on
Reminder service installs by default on our computers. IS locks the e-mail app down so we can't turn it off. For some reason, they don't lock down the registry....hehe!
No toast.
Great use of the blog, Mark. I think
Great use of the blog, Mark. I think you help make the case that business email is fueled by FEAR and INSECURITY...Stay with me on this...
At it's core it seems to play to the very human FEAR of missing out on something - and therefore risk appearing not "in the know."
Compounding this situation is the behavior that people respond to email with MORE email - (like comments and acknowledgements) - even when they're one of many copied on an email. And I wonder if this is a reflection of insecurity - the perceived need to show you're involved by replying with a comment.
I completely agree with your recommendation to turn off any reminders. I think email is a symptom of underlying problems with insecurity, fear and other bad stuff. Sorry if that sounds bleak. I'm just trying to get at a better understanding for why people cling to this behavior, even when they know it's not optimal...
-Hugh