Your inbox is flooded. Mine too. Why do we think we have to respond immediately? When did that become a new standard? Just stop it.

If you’re exhausted from trying to keep up with emails, stop replying.

Earlier this week one of my favorite clients actually apologized for not replying sooner – it had been 21 hours. I assured her she could put me on the “48+ hour response” list.

I think especially in nonprofits we tend to be our own worst enemy.  We’re so used to not having enough. Not enough time, not enough money, not enough volunteers, not enough space, not enough staff and we create this false world to try to alleviate that feeling of helplessness. Maybe if we work ourselves into a frenzy and respond immediately, no one will notice we’re spinning out of control.

You can stop the madness – here’s how:

1. You have my permission to take a breath and regain control. Slow down for a minute. No one is appreciating your extra effort anyway. Most people aren’t even noticing (probably because they are in their own frenzied state!). Seriously, what if you waited a day and replied when you had taken a little more time to send a response that didn’t feel rushed? No one will die. And it might be kind of fun to just mess with people who you know are hoping for an immediate response.

2. Focus on training others. If you start delaying your email responses, you set a different expectation. You can influence how others communicate with you. For instance, if I know you respond less frequently than the average crazed nonprofit professional, I will email you only when I have an important message.  That means fewer emails!  Try it….take baby steps and just delay your reply by an hour at first.

3. Stop replying after business hours. Once you set yourself up as being accessible 24/7, you just perpetuate the problem. And what kind of example are you setting for others? Do you expect your team to be available 24/7? Is that fair? Now I understand that you might not be able to unplug for hours at a time without anxiety. And sometimes off-hours is the most convenient time to respond. Got it. But that doesn’t mean you have to actually reply right then. Schedule your emails if you must type a response at midnight. I hate to tell you this, but most leaders aren’t impressed with emails in the wee hours.

4.  Check your own expectations of others.  Are you pumping out emails right and left, assuming the receiver will be waiting for your message and magically reply immediately every time?  See above and manage your communication.

Here’s the deal. When you have something urgent you need to communicate to me – use that phone that’s within arm’s length at all times, and call me. I’ve trained my clients, who know I am very committed to their success, that I don’t work in the evenings or on the weekends. They can email me all they want, but I’m not replying until the next business day. I have a really great life outside work and I expect it to be respected. And I’ll respect your non-work life too.

Gotta run – it’s time to go to the gym. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.

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