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The Professional Coworker
- lsiebert 13y agoFirst I like a lot of this article. Thinking about one's role in the community of the company, and the responsibilites product, is important and valiable. That said: Maybe it's nitpicking, but responding to every IM or email in an hour or less? If communication is key, it's much better to set up clear times when you are available for talking then to respond quickly to emails, at least for things that don't require repeated interactions. One might also up expectations for urgent replies that can interrupt you, but you will have communicated expectations. You can have a give and take with the above, but in general, you will respond more effectively if you chunk your reading and sending e-mail. Then, absolutely be available at the set times, and respond to messages during them.
- mcrittenden 13y agoOP here. I sincerely don't understand why it's difficult for some people to respond within the hour. Even if you just set aside 5 minutes per hour to respond to whatever came in in the last hour, that's still vastly more helpful to your coworkers than boxing out specific areas of your day where you will respond and expecting them to be attentive to that. Where's the reluctance? Honest question.
- lsiebert 13y agohmm... thought I replied from mobile, but I guess it failed to post. I guess it's because I find it hard to focus, or rather to shift focus. I'd much rather chunk my time (and get economies of scale), rather then shift between two discrete tasks. They don't have to be attentive. Heck, they can put URGENT in an email, and I can make my computer beep the moment that comes in. But most e-mails can wait.