How to keep on top of your (many) work messages
In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s no surprise that many leaders feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages coming at them from all directions – Slack, emails, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, document comments, sticky notes – the list is endless. If managing communication across multiple platforms feels like a full-time job in itself, you’re not alone! The demand to respond, prioritise and manage constant messages is exhausting and can be detrimental to our productivity (and well-being). So what can you do to claim back some time and a sense of control?
1.Turn off alerts and notifications (seriously, do it)
I’ve spoken about the life-changing benefit of this before, but simply turning off all the beeps and bings and stopping the icons from changing shape or colour when there’s a new message for you can really free you up from feeling at the beck and call of all these platforms.
2. Close things down
Don’t have all the apps, comments and emails open all the time. Yes, there may be times when you do need to leave all of these platforms open, but not always. When you can, close some of them down for an hour or two and be more purposeful about where you focus your attention so you’re not trying to hop between different demands.
3. Narrow the places where you respond
Next, try to consolidate your conversations in particular places. You can cut and paste text if necessary and then reply in one place. Where you need to justify it, explain that you’re doing this to keep track of all the topics. Some platforms let you answer through another platform. For example, as you probably know, you can answer your Slack messages through your email. Message consolidators (more in the 3 resources below) can help you to combine all your feeds into one place. By narrowing the different streams you have to check, and all the places where you need to respond, you’ll find there’s a bit less cognitive load.
4. Tell people what works best for you
Also, share your preferences, particularly with juniors, so they know where you’d like them to talk to you and how. This will help you to keep messages on a smaller group of platforms so that you can answer their questions and needs more easily.
5. What if it still feels a lot?
Well, then you need to make sure you are taking screen breaks, that you’re parking your phone in the kitchen at night, and that you’re being realistic with yourself (and others) as to what’s actually achievable in the hours you’re supposed to be working.
3 resources to help you cut through the messaging clutter:
How to do deep work despite the mental clutter: https://todoist.com/inspiration/deep-work
Apps which combine all your messaging platforms in one place: https://zapier.com/blog/best-all-in-one-messaging-app/
How to share your communication preferences with others: https://awcoach.co/how-to-effectively-share-your-work-style-communication-preferences/
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