Just because you can do something does not mean that it is a good idea to do it. Maybe you would be more productive if you stopped reading your e-mail on your phone.
Don't get me wrong, you know from reading my blog and listening to my podcasts, I LOVE technology.
In fact, most of the time I'm touting the benefits of using different apps and other technology to improve your productivity.
Technology works great — for some people.
You have heard me talk about the evils of multi-tasking before. Reading e-mail on your phone can really cause severe multi-tasking if you are not careful.
I have been working with a coaching client for a number of months now and this is the conversation we had. You see, I observed that his responses to e-mail were different when he was reading from his laptop compared to his phone.
Here is what I observed (and maybe you struggle with the same thing)
Let's start with this thought: Effective / productive communication involves both the receiver of information understanding what is read and the writer being able to convey thoughts in a way that it can be understood. Right?
In my client's case his phone was hindering BOTH sides of that equation.
When Receiving Email on His Phone He Missed Important Points
When opening up an email with multiple action steps he would only reply to the first item being mentioned in the email. Because he would miss other points, communication often got jumbled and someone would have to step in to help bring the project communication back in line. On the other hand, when he responded to emails off of his laptop, everything that needed to be addressed was addressed.
Answers Coming From His Phone Were Often Incomplete or Lost Meaning
The age of texting and tweeting have made our normal form of communication different. Abbreviations, incomplete sentences, etc. happen much more commonly than they used to. We found that when he was responding from his phone, his communication was often difficult to understand. Yet, when he replied from his laptop, there was never a misunderstanding.
So, Did He Agree?
He and I had a general conversation about project communication and he agreed that there had been some confusing moments in the past month or so. I then shared my observation about using the phone vs not using the phone.
He acknowledged that often he was in between appointments — half thinking about what he was reading and half thinking about the last or next appointment — when he was reading and replying from his phone. However, he used his laptop during his office hours when things were more quiet and he could concentrate.
The Solution – No More Reading/Replying On the Phone
While the phone was a really convenient tool to access e-mail, he agreed that ultimately his replies from the devise were taking more time because of the need to clean up miss-communication. He has now decided that he will not use his phone for e-mail communication. So far, he has gone 2 weeks and it is working out pretty good for him.
So, Was the Phone Really to Blame?
Not really. Divided attention was to blame, but the phone was an “enabler” of sorts. The smaller screen also made it difficult to see the entire content of an email, so scrolling could have caused challenges with the understanding of what was read.
Final Thoughts
If you use your phone for email communication, take a moment to evaluate its effectiveness. If it really isn't working for you. Stop using it.
Until we talk again,
Live Fully — Love Openly — Laugh Often — Leverage Your Brilliance — Connect Authentically — Get Your Message Out — Serve with Impact — Prosper Everyday
Tracy says
I set my phone and tablet email up so that I CANNOT respond to emails, but I can receive them. This way, I stay up to date, can jot notes and reminders in my to do app, which syncs to my pc, and if there is something urgent, I just call. Problem solved…temptation removed!
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Tracy – Thanks for sharing your tip. That sounds like a great blog topic. Interested in writing a how-to article and guest posting it here?
Dan Woodman says
Great article. It’s so tempting that it is hard not to use my phone to get that “quick reply” in. What I find is that the quick reply typically has unformed thoughts and ideas in it because I am trying to be a first responder. Instead, I use the “flag message” functionality built into my phone. When I see an e-mail come in on my phone that needs my attention, I evaluate. If all that is needed is a simple, quick answer, I may reply. But if not, then I use the “flag this message” functionality. This means, when I sit down at my PC, all of the messages that came in while I am out have been divided into two priorities — “Deal with this now, Dan” and “this didn’t seem that important.” I can then knock out the flagged messages first, leaving the rest to wait until I have finished what I know to be important. It’s a best of both worlds scenario.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Dan – Thanks for sharing your phone solution. You have made some great points. It sounds like your method works really well for you. The prioritization strategy is excellent.
Cameron Plommer says
I’m glad you mention at the end of the post that the phone really wasn’t the problem. The phone shoes the same information as a laptop. But since the environment which an email is read on a phone is usually a distracting one I can see how he didn’t take his time to respond fully.
To me his problem is better served by changing the bad habit of being distracted. The solution isn’t to stop using the phone to read email, it’s to figure out how to focus on one thing at a time: be it reading an email or doing anything else.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Hi Cameron –
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective! Doing one thing at a time is really difficult for many in today’s fast moving life. I think it depends on the person. For some people, the smaller screen actually makes it more difficult to read and thus more difficult to focus. Of course, I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach for much of anything. It is critical for every person to understand their strengths and weaknesses and put systems in place that match.
Andrew Ready says
Interesting thoughts! I use my phone to check my email, but only reply if it is something very simple. I agree that a more detailed answer needs more attention given to it, so I wait until I’m in front of the computer before replying. Often the more detailed questions require me to look up other documents, check dates etc which are all much easier on a bigger screen.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Glad that my thoughts here led to some contemplation. Good points Andrew. Thanks for sharing.
Isi Dixon says
I find it quite funny how quickly people nowadays adopt new technologies to such a degree that they can’t live without them. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and gadgets, I have an iphone myself and love it. But I refuse to sync emails to it. For exactly the reason that I also believe multitasking is very inefficient since it robs you of concentration and more errors occur. I deal with my emails when I’m at my desk (during email time). I simply don’t want to be at the beck and call of everyone else’s agenda.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Hi Isi –
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I like how you have found a system that works for you! It sounds like you are a pro at setting boundaries. That is a critical skill for productivity.
vanhirekent says
Technology has both sides – Good & Bad. It is upto you how to use it. It can be used as a better way to achieve best outcomes. Dont misuse it. Smartphones can never always be used as multitasking. It is not beneficial always in this way. I lok\ved your blog. Thanks for sharing it.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
I’m a big believer that there is no one “right” way to do things. There is a “right way” for you. The art is finding that combination. Glad you liked the post and I hope you come back to join the conversation again.
Brent Kelly says
I have heard this suggestion before and it makes so much sense, but this would be a tough one for me. I am so entrenched with being connected at all times. As a sales processional,, I don’t want to be unresponsive, but I am also fully aware that I can be easily distracted and lose focus. I travel quite a bit and get so many emails daily (many of them unimportant) that I have always felt filtering them throughout the day is helpful so I don’t feel overwhelmed when I finally get to my computer. Any suggestions? Great post.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Hi Brent –
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your comments! I used to be addicted to my electronics too. The trick is to have HEALTHY boundaries around how you use technology. In my client’s case, is wasn’t healthy for him or his business or his clients to read his email on the phone.
Being accessible is often a good thing for service business owners like you. However, if your customer service or comprehension suffers, are you really doing right by your customers? It really is about a mindset shift and setting the priority of customer service first, fast accessibility second. Do your people want a focused Brent or a fast answer? Which is more important to them?
I get the being mobile and wanting a way to triage your email to limit overwhelm. Your phone is one option, but have you considered setting up rules in your email to filter the most important? I have all kinds of rules established in my email tool that sorts the email into folders. Each folder has a priority level. That way, I know I’m reading the most important first.
Another possibility is to only use your phone to do the triage. To do that requires another email address. You set up the second address to forward important emails. It goes like this: You scan (but don’t reply) on your phone. Anything important gets forwarded to your followup email. When you are back at your desk and thinking more clearly, you reply to those communications.
Putting systems into your business is the best way to manage your time and focus. Getting solid email systems that work for your situation is one such system.
Sonny says
Haha. you got me! my email were configured on my smartphone.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Sonny – The trick is to decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing for you and your work. For some, it can be really productive, but for my client it was detrimental.
Alex Webley says
This is very good. Read & apply.
I have long preferred using a desktop/notebook for the reasons you mention, and more. One such is that when I reply to an email via my phone, my signature does not get inserted.
Stephanie LH Calahan says
Hi Alex – Great to see you here from Twitter. It’s really important to know what ways of working, work for you. While there are some that can work successfully from their phone, it messes many up. Hope to see you back here again soon.