June 27, 2010 52 Comments

I Want NOW not New

the importance of now I was reading this post by Julien Smith and it struck me that I’d had a similar thought on the same day he wrote it. I left the seed of this post in his comments when I said, “I want now not new. Here’s what I was thinking.

Inboxes are set up to tell us when a new message comes in. It’s a distraction. Think about it: not all the NEW that comes in needs attention NOW. But that’s how our inboxes sort: by what’s new.

If I’m due at the airport, and you’re coming to pick me up, and there’s a change of plans, you’ll likely switch out of email into text (or voice) and contact me with that information. Sending it to my inbox means it’s not a NOW situation.

And yet, lots of times, people send messages to one’s inbox, or to Twitter, or other places, seeking a NOW response. (Note, I still think we’re doing a lot of our intentions of communication wrong, as I said in the Assault on Anywhen.)

So, in Julien’s parlance, if I had a better watchtower, something that knew when something was a NOW message versus something just being a NEW message, then I’d have a better way to consider my responses. What would that look like? I’m not sure. People have abused the email system’s “urgent” button for far too long. People still often use SMS text messaging when they really should be sending a quick email (because it’s not urgent).

In thinking of how I use AwayFind and my contact form, and in how I’m drowning in tweets and texts and emails, I’m thinking that it’s a problem that’s far more systematic and software-based than it is “personal time management” based.

I need to sort on NOW, not new.

You?

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  • http://simplewebguys.com JayTurn

    That is something I have never seen discussed before Chris, but I think there is an opening for an email based application to solve it rather simply.

    A simple set of options could be set to allocate the “Now” or urgent status to emails. The email program's user could define those rule according to:

    Individual email authors (business associates, clients, speaking request forms etc)
    A list of keywords that might often appear within important email topics (obviously ai such as that used for Google would track synonyms of important words)

    I think, though a basic beginning, this could set the precedent for a program that could learn as it goes. Being able to identify common variables that make up an important email and in time, take on some of the responsibility.

    I like where you are coming from with this because email has been something which, in hindsight, hasn't really developed far beyond it's initial concept. Instead other platforms have been introduced to attempt to replace it.

  • http://www.twistimage.com/blog Mitch Joel – Twist Image

    This is also a signal to noise issue – especially for you, Chris. I think the average person doesn't deal with a fraction of the digital communications that you deal with, so for the majority it's not that huge of a deal. Personally, I have a ton of digital communications but with a quick flick of the finger, it's pretty obvious which are the “now” vs. just the “new”. That being said, can't you use email to let you know if messages/individuals can be flagged as urgent? And, when sending a message can't you send it as urgent? The key would be in people not abusing this.

  • http://www.danieldecker.net Daniel Decker

    Would love to know if you find a solution to this. Not sure there can be one unless the level of access is decreased. I think whenever we have doors open then we're inviting just about anyone to step through them so it's really hard to put any qualitative restrictions on that unless we have a doorman of sorts or some other sort of gate. No matter what, someone else will always consider their contact to be NOW when it should be just NEW (in many cases). And the reverse is true, if we gate up too much then someone with a NOW might not get through.

  • http://twitter.com/JohnLusher JohnLusher

    I agree with Daniel's comments; I would love to know if you find a solution to this. I have lost count of the number of phone calls from individuals that were upset because I didn't respond to an email immediately! I try to make it clear to people in my network; if you need me now, call or text, but many of them still email and expect that immediate response. Is it software based or is it human conditioning? Not sure, but it is a problem.

  • http://twitter.com/mayaREguru Maya P.

    I just read Juliens post you referenced Chris, and commented there. I think Mitch Joel hits the nail on the head for you – the level of noise you get is not the norm, so I suspect there are lots of extra urgent attempts to reach you.

    I think the solution is there – the phone! For me, it rings all day long, as a REALTOR, it is my job to asnwer it, but I have finally trained myself that it doesn't require an answer, but can wait a few minutes.

    There are a few numbers that will always be answered (Childcare/School, people I know are in need, or other events/situations which are immediate or require the attention), otherwise GoogleVoice transcribes, and within minutes I can determine need.

    I have only the phone notification turned on on my Blackberry, other than the flashing red light, I will never know of a text or email. I think everyone I know is aware if you want to reach me – you call my cell, and if you don't get my the first time, leave a message and call my cell again (service can be spotty). Seems to work for me, but then again – my world is a much smaller simpler place.

    Why not invent something to solve the problem? Challenge a class at MIT to create it?

  • http://twitter.com/swoodruff Steve Woodruff

    This one's a pipe dream, I afraid. There are too many variables, too many people, too many channels – and, the definition of “Now” will always be a moving target as situations continually change. The only possibility is a highly-trained human filter, but than opens up its own set of issues. I do wish there was a single repository of messaging (phone, Twitter, e-mail, etc. etc.) that could have at least some rules and filters applied. That would be a small step.

  • http://www.perfectoled.com electronic display

    I’m thinking that it’s a problem that’s far more systematic and software-based than it is “personal time management” based.

  • thomsinger

    Chris- The issue with email for you is that you are an “accessible celebrity” which means that the number of people trying to reach you cannot scale. I get about 200 emails a day. A HUGE amount, but not impossible to manage most days, as most do not need my response or immediate attention. Your close friends can text, but I could not imagine you letting everyone know your cell number (YIKES).

    Many people forget in this day of tech communication that they are not the only side of the communication. There are two people…. and that means we must remember that others have different ways of utilizing all the tools that exist.

    People use communications in their own ways. While email is not the best way to reach you… it is the best way to reach me. I give high priority to my main email account, but rarely check my old account (which complicates things more for some who never got my change). My friend Scott has a voicemail message that says “voicemail is not the best way to reach him”… he wants a text. But I do a lot of work while I drive, and cannot text (NOBODY SHOULD TEXT WHILE THEY DRIVE!), thus since he rarely checks voicemail,…. we cannot communicate efficiently.

    My dad does not have a cell phone or a computer (he is 95), so I can only reach him on his home phone… but he is so active (the “home” he lives in is like a big frat house with poker, bridge, Movie night, etc…). Timing is everything or we never talk. Granted, he is the exception, but it is an example of how we must look to how others need to communicate in addition to our own needs.

    Also, there are more tools coming…. so the way you communicate today will not be the same tools tomorrow.

    thom

  • http://www.a-startup-guy.com darrindickey

    Chris,

    I think a part of the problem is that “NOW” and “New” are relative. I get people who request stuff and they need it by 9 a.m. tomorrow. That's NOW for them. But I'm working on a project due in an hour. Their NOW is just New for me.

  • Kermit

    Re: I Want NOW not New.

    Ha! I prefer email, precisely because I do NOT want “now”. I prefer to take time to think about my responses, and email is exactly the best tool for doing this.

    Kermit Rose

  • http://www.webconsuls.com Judy Helfand

    Hi Chris,
    I also read Julien's post at some ridiculous hour on June 24th. I commented about your “now” and “new” needs…talked about your AnyWHEN Manifesto. As I said to Julien, even though you can create and activate (install) filters, you often have to check the filters and replace the filters.
    The bottom line is this: you have something like 55,000 identified blog readers, your Twitter account is more like a Puffin colony., not to mention all your projects, business commitments, etc.
    So, experiment with your email and set up some “rules”, “labesl”, “filters” using a magical word like NOW. Tell your “need to know” group to use this word in the SUBJECT line. Let us know how it works out for you.
    Hope you have a good Sunday.

  • http://www.technotheory.com Jared Goralnick

    I agree with you, Chris, that it's not just an issue of importance and definitely not an issue of when the message was received, but a matter of urgency. Thanks for mentioning (and being a longtime user of!) AwayFind, too, we're working on ways to address this. I'll be paying close attention to your readers' comments here–thanks for posting this topic and helping with my research ; ).

  • http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle

    Wow, first and foremost, great post, Chris.

    My inbox is always getting flooded with newsletters, comment updates, and much more. I don't really care about responding to those things at this very second, so maybe it would be a good idea to set up a secondary email for everything that is not important. Kind of like a business email versus a personal email. What do you think?

  • http://webdevstar.com Anwar

    We simply need something better than the urgent feature. Flight changes is easy…but what about a key response you're waiting on from a colleague. Maybe a feature like the filter…only on the fly.

    For example, setting the next message from a contact to be at the top of the list, or highlighted to stand out. But that only solves the problems for things we want. What about the unexpected. Just and idea to think about for all you software junkies.

  • sharonhayes

    Chris, it comes down to having an efficient gatekeeping system I think. I have an assistant who filters my email. Anything that is “now” she will either tell me live or forward it to me. Anything else, she deals with and sends me 2 reports a day that summarizes it. 99.9% of the time the “now” gets pulled up when it should. Because I'm anal about things, I do eventually LOOK at all emails (I get copied on responses) but it takes away the urgency and everything that comes in through the gate gets handled as it should.

    I've been reading your posts on the “growth” issues you've been dealing with. My own two cents – you really could benefit from working with a consultant or coach to help you get the systems in place to continue to grow your business and your personal brand. You need to build in better leverage and scalability – both of which are entirely doable.

  • http://marianlibrarian.com Marian Schembari

    Story of my life dude, story of my life. That said, I refuse to answer tweets/emails/FB messages/etc as if they're urgent. If someone wants to talk to me or needs an answer right away, they can call me. I don't know about you, but at least for me, that medium rarely gets used. Clients and friends now know I don't respond to email right away and if they need something immediately that's not the best way to contact me. I don't have an iPhone, I only log onto Twitter once a day to schedule my tweets, otherwise I would end up drowning. Now, I have ad the occasional annoyed clients because of my delayed response, but once I explain that my life would become completely overwhelming if I had to take my email with me everywhere, they're always really understanding. Not sure if that's even a possibility for you (I have far fewer and far less prestigious clients), but it helps not to give in ;-)

  • hakansoderbom

    Thought – turn off the email noise by using a tool that allows you to decide when you are ready to receive email. I manage 5 email accounts (1 Exchange, 2 Hotmail, 2 Gmail) via Outlook. By turning off the online synchronization I can do manual syncs whenever I am ready to deal with new emails. That said, I only turn off the autosync when I really need some email-free time. I should do it more often… Phone, IM and Skype are the “Now” channels to me.

  • http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

    Maybe it’s a matter of setting expectations.

    If your default is 24 hours, then 12 seems fast!

    But if you ALWAYS answer calls/emails within 6 hours, and then miss some for whatever reasons, 12 hours seems like you're slow to respond and ppl get snarky.

    A lot of this is about ‘containing the customer’.

  • Karin Jordan

    Now v New is an eternal question for me and many others I know. For me it boils down to managing other peoples expectations and being authentic about what works for you. Being relatively new to SM and especially Twitter, I'm still navigating my way through this. As someone whose passion and role is to work alongside people in real time (IRT) meaning less time at the pc or iphone, here's what I'm experimenting with: 1. On days and weeks I know that I'll be busy working alongside clients IRT, I let everyone on Twitter know that and also in my email vacation response. It's a bit Old Skool/retro I know, and it may have lost me followers who expect more of me. 2. On a day out working with clients I check emails once as a minimum and reply as best I can even if it's just to say thanks and I'll get back to you on X day. My approach is to be realistic about what I can manage and not create expectation I can't deliver. Whether this is acceptable in the SM World is yet to be seen, what I do know is that I'm being authentic about how I work and what kind of balance I can manage. #success or #fail ?

  • http://twitter.com/jhollington Jesse Hollington

    People seem to get very hyped about a mobile device having “push e-mail” and are quick to disparage those devices that lack it, but I've never really seen the point, and in fact deliberately shy away from such services. In our Blackberry-focused society people seem to mistake e-mail for being an instantaneous and reliable form of communication (it is neither), and this has distorted their expectations from others. Somebody once had the gall to complain that I didn't respond to their e-mail right away with the statement “I know you carry a Blackberry!”

    Pop-up notifications are the enemy of productivity. I don't use push e-mail and I turn off all e-mail notifications, preferring instead to read my e-mail when I have time to visit my inbox. Ditto for social media services.

    I have for the most part managed expectations of people I deal with based on one very simple philosophy: I carry a mobile device for MY convenience, not for anybody else's. The same logic applies to my e-mail inbox. The person most responsible for managing my time and commitments is me, and there is no time-management benefit to be gained by running an interrupt-driven life, and rarely anything that comes into my inbox that can't wait until my next available moment to review it.

  • http://www.joshchandlerva.com Josh Chandler

    Jesse,

    I'm a big time addict of the push email functionality on smartphones. It saves so much time to have a portable device which can alert me to new emails, the difference being is that I'm not inclined to check it immediately.

    It is inexcusable to think that people (such as in your example) expect your full attention to their needs 24/7 – If we did the same to them, they'd react negatively.

    Our doubling up on time spent on work is actually making us less effective, our focus is always being switched. How are we supposed to produce high quality results with that type of distraction.

  • http://www.joshchandlerva.com Josh Chandler

    Chris,

    My philosophy on email is that if I don't have my mail client open, the “NOW” can wait.

    There are people who won't be satisfied you sent them an email reply with 30 seconds of their original message, but at the end of the day I honestly don't care.

    I set the level of expectations on when I check email. If they want to maintain a positive working relationship with me, then they'll have to be ready to wait.

    It's not that hard…

  • http://twitter.com/DougDalsing Doug Dalsing

    Thank you, Chris, for articulating my frustrations.

  • http://twitter.com/DougDalsing Doug Dalsing

    Thank you, Chris, for articulating my frustration.

  • http://twitter.com/stevecmortgage Steve Currington

    Bam! Read this on Sunday and just read it again. Great work.

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  • Anonymous

    Not sure how much this might help, but Google is rolling out G-Mail priority inbox this week. It has adaptive algorithms to figure out what is important to you and categorize your email. http://mail.google.com/mail/help/priority-inbox.html

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