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Here's the strategy that one of my professors uses and that he explained to me some time ago: While he reads and replies to incoming emails througout the day, h

Here's the strategy that one of my professors uses and that he explained to me some time ago: While he reads and replies to incoming emails througout the day, he set up his mail server (or email client) to only send out his replies once a day, namely at 4.30am. That way, 1) correspondents are prevented from using email as chat, i.e. from burning a lot of his time 2) people write more result-oriented emails, knowing they will have to wait for his response for a day 3) the total volume of emails reaching him decreased because a lot of the issues people (want to) email him about often solve themselves within a day, so people don't bother emailing him about them anymore, knowing that he won't be able to help them in time.

tgb 10y ago
Or use the strategy that one of my professors used: refuse to get a school email address and all the associated computer accounts and hence be completely incapable of doing most paperwork. The important stuff they'd find a way to get him to do anyway. Note: tenure may be required. Predating the email system helps, too.
- ecdavis 10y ago
  https://cs.stanford.edu/~uno/email.html https://cs.stanford.edu/~uno/email.html
  - Someone 10y ago
    Technically, Knuth didn’t refuse to get a school email address, nor to get all the associated computer accounts. He used email for 15 years, then decided that was enough.
- codethief 10y ago
  Well, not using email at all is pretty much impossible, considering how many committees said professor is in and how many students he's handling. It's also not his goal because he does like working with them and participating and so on. It's just that he was looking for a more time-effective method to do so.
  - tgb 10y ago
    He had a department email, but not the school-wide system account/email.
bluedino 10y ago
There's a manager where I work who sets his phone to forward to voicemail 24 hours a day. He doesn't get your message until he checks his messages and it's frustrating as all hell to try to get him on the phone.
- ghaff 10y ago
  Seems reasonable. I'm frequently in situations where I can't answer a phone and others where I don't want to. I'm much more inclined to reply to texts.

tgb 10y ago

Or use the strategy that one of my professors used: refuse to get a school email address and all the associated computer accounts and hence be completely incapable of doing most paperwork. The important stuff they'd find a way to get him to do anyway. Note: tenure may be required. Predating the email system helps, too.

ecdavis 10y ago
https://cs.stanford.edu/~uno/email.html https://cs.stanford.edu/~uno/email.html
- Someone 10y ago
  Technically, Knuth didn’t refuse to get a school email address, nor to get all the associated computer accounts. He used email for 15 years, then decided that was enough.
codethief 10y ago
Well, not using email at all is pretty much impossible, considering how many committees said professor is in and how many students he's handling. It's also not his goal because he does like working with them and participating and so on. It's just that he was looking for a more time-effective method to do so.
- tgb 10y ago
  He had a department email, but not the school-wide system account/email.

bluedino 10y ago

There's a manager where I work who sets his phone to forward to voicemail 24 hours a day. He doesn't get your message until he checks his messages and it's frustrating as all hell to try to get him on the phone.

ghaff 10y ago
Seems reasonable. I'm frequently in situations where I can't answer a phone and others where I don't want to. I'm much more inclined to reply to texts.