Email Part 3- Should you really be emailing away from the office?

With technology, you can send email through your cell phone in seconds. Gone are the days that you had to wait at your desk to see if a big deal came through or if you received an email from someone you were interested in—the answer you are waiting for is at your finger tips. The downside is that it can also take over your personal life. People now think that you can view your email anytime and anyplace.

I hear parents and educators complain about the use of their children’s texting at the dinner table or during family time, yet my daughter tells me that her teachers are texting during class! Now, maybe they are not texting but they are checking their email. Either way, it appears to the students that the teachers can use their mobile device during class time but the students cannot. How can we expect the upcoming generation to gives us their full attention and respect when we are always multi-tasking ourselves?

A friend of mine recently told me that her boss had asked her a question and then proceeded to look down at his phone and read emails! I was appalled. Just because you have access to your email anytime and anyplace does not mean you should take advantage of it when you are already engaged in personal interaction with a LIVE person in front of you. We want so much to get things accomplished that we forget about how the other person in our presence feels when we choose our electronic device over them.

Here are a few tips when emailing away from your office with your electronic device:
1. When you are in a meeting, be present in the moment and check your emails when it is over
2. If you are engaged in a conversation with someone, let them know you are present by maintaining contact and keeping your PDA or smart phone in your bag, purse, or pocket
3. When you’re with family, there should be no need to be checking emails. If you need to continue working, let your family know that you are working and go in another room. You can also let them know you are expecting an email that evening and that you apologize but you have to keep checking your email
4. NEVER at the dinner table
5. Set up a signature with your phone so that all of your new emails and replies have your contact information
6. Apply the same rules of grammar and punctuation as if you were using your email at your desk (do NOT use text language)