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Aaron, you sound like a guy with not enough to do. If you can answer every email without prioritization, then I doubt you are getting all that much email. I su

Aaron, you sound like a guy with not enough to do. If you can answer every email without prioritization, then I doubt you are getting all that much email. I suppose I could go through every email, Seth Godin-style, and fire off a zinger one-liner the day it arrives. But though I might answer a lot of email, I wouldn't be doing the emailers any favors. I often get emails from users that require some thought or research to answer properly. These people are better served to wait a couple days, than to have me try and be "productive." I agree with the general idea of "Just Do It." But it's just an aphorism, and any aphorism taken to extreme will end up being moronic. What are you working on these days anyways? I'd prefer to see your software than your thoughts on answering emails or hiring programmers. Reddit and RSS are certainly helping me more than your essays brewed from boredom.

pavs 17y ago
I agree with you. Personally speaking I reply to all my emails within the first 24 hours and my inbox has been empty for the last year or so - this is mostly because I do have a lot of free time and I don't receive a lot emails. I think the author gave a bad example for "do it now" philosophy. I know quite a few people who receives a few dozen emails a day and most of them requires some level of thought to reply.
pmichaud 17y ago
Yes... I run several moderately successful blogs and I'm overwhelmed by correspondence (in waves). Starting from the top and answering everything would be a way for me to make my full time job answering e-mail, while getting behind.
jimbokun 17y ago
"I suppose I could go through every email, Seth Godin-style, and fire off a zinger one-liner the day it arrives. But though I might answer a lot of email, I wouldn't be doing the emailers any favors." I remember reading not too long ago a heart felt email from a developer to Steve jobs that was several paragraphs long. Jobs' full reply: "Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal." http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/dear-steve--20091125-jppa.html http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/dear-steve-... From the time stamps, he replied within 3 hours, and probably within a few minutes of when he actually read it. Maybe he could have taken more time to research and reply, ask a subordinate to research further, etc. But I doubt he could have given a much better response or made his position more clear than those 10 words. I guess my point is, the "zinger one-liner" might be the most appropriate course of action more often than you think.
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  He could have said "Fuck You" as well - which is basically what he did - but most people don't consider that positive communication. I don't think the response he gave was the one that would have the most positive effects.

pavs 17y ago

I agree with you. Personally speaking I reply to all my emails within the first 24 hours and my inbox has been empty for the last year or so - this is mostly because I do have a lot of free time and I don't receive a lot emails. I think the author gave a bad example for "do it now" philosophy. I know quite a few people who receives a few dozen emails a day and most of them requires some level of thought to reply.

pmichaud 17y ago

Yes... I run several moderately successful blogs and I'm overwhelmed by correspondence (in waves). Starting from the top and answering everything would be a way for me to make my full time job answering e-mail, while getting behind.

jimbokun 17y ago

"I suppose I could go through every email, Seth Godin-style, and fire off a zinger one-liner the day it arrives. But though I might answer a lot of email, I wouldn't be doing the emailers any favors." I remember reading not too long ago a heart felt email from a developer to Steve jobs that was several paragraphs long. Jobs' full reply: "Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal." http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/dear-steve--20091125-jppa.html http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/dear-steve-... From the time stamps, he replied within 3 hours, and probably within a few minutes of when he actually read it. Maybe he could have taken more time to research and reply, ask a subordinate to research further, etc. But I doubt he could have given a much better response or made his position more clear than those 10 words. I guess my point is, the "zinger one-liner" might be the most appropriate course of action more often than you think.

run4yourlives 17y ago
He could have said "Fuck You" as well - which is basically what he did - but most people don't consider that positive communication. I don't think the response he gave was the one that would have the most positive effects.