Managing the Message: E-mail Survival

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY

“I love e-mail.” — No One, ever

Few demands in the educational administration universe are entirely good or entirely bad. E-mail proves that point, sometimes crossing the line from a useful tool to an outrageously awful burden.

On the plus side, e-mail provides a quick and efficient way to meet many of the communication demands of leading a school district. Our work intersects with the lives of children, families, educators, community representatives, school boards, vendors and more. E-mail helps us address the constant and ongoing need for information sharing with the various stakeholders who need a piece of our time.

Unfortunately, e-mail also enables a never-ending flow of proprietary sales pitches, keyboard warriors and people who expect instant and detailed responses. Compounding the management of our inboxes are those who hit “reply all” indiscriminately, those who insist on using ALL CAPS, those using a misleading subject line or others who demonstrate a complete lack of self-awareness in their signature boxes. Managing that flow can be overwhelming.

The irony of e-mail is that it both creates and bogs down efficiency in our communication. With that, our challenge is to limit the clutter and preserve important boundaries for our time.