The Productivity Killer App is Actually Email

?? Hot take: I found the killer app for deep work.

It’s called “email.”

(ducks ??)

I know, I know. I’ve heard it before too. I’ve even said it.

“Email is the worst!”

“I never get anything done because I’m stuck doing emails!”

“But Slack is cooler!”

But the problem with that way of working with email isn’t email itself. The problem is us. We’re the part of the email product experience that’s flawed.?

Any message that comes in from any channel, whether it’s email, Slack, a phone call, text message, carrier pigeon, whatever — any inbound message is (1) an interruption, and (2) an attempt by someone else to take your time and attention away from where you deem it should be.

Your time is that: yours.

Inbound messages are attempts by others — even the well-intended, justified, and necessary — to force your time and energy onto what they think is urgent and important, regardless of what you think.

The genius of email is that it’s asynchronous.?

Just because you get a message, doesn’t mean you have to respond to it immediately. It can sit there for a bit. I promise. 99% of the time, it’ll be ok to respond to it in a few hours when you’ve completed your deep work.

And what about messaging apps like Slack and Teams?

Same deal — they aren’t inherently bad. They’re actually quite good at keeping remote and hybrid teams connected socially, or troubleshooting an issue in real time when appropriate.?

What’s bad is when we try to use them for everything instead of for what they’re best at.

One of the highest-impact changes I’ve made for both my personal productivity and that of teams I’ve led is establishing a set of communication channel norms that maximize productivity and trust without sacrificing social connection in a remote or hybrid working environment.

It may sound too simple, or like your team's work is too important or too fast-paced to make it work. But, having worked in companies that have 15 people, 150 people, 1,500 people, and 15,000 people, I've never seen a team that couldn't benefit from adopting the core of this method that I call The EMP Framework.

So, here it is...

The EMP Framework:?

1. Email is the default. Almost everything can wait until tomorrow, and the burden of proof is on justifying something as more urgent than a 1-day turnaround on response.
2. Messaging is for something that 100% cannot wait until tomorrow. If you don’t need someone’s immediate attention but you can’t wait until the next day to get a response, then use your team's messaging service (e.g. Slack).
3. Phone is for urgent requests. If you absolutely need someone’s attention on a work-stopping issue, and you need their attention now, we call the person. Yes, on the phone. Yes, that’s allowed.

And you might be thinking: this sounds nice but doesn’t seem like anything revolutionary. Where’s the magic?

There's nothing magical about the magic.?

The “magic” that makes this system work is communicating these norms with the team and collectively committing to them.?

Write down the norms in a document, share them, talk about them in your team meetings, and have everyone "sign" the document (even if it's just them typing their name and the day's date). Just as importantly, set a clear norm that it's ok to remind each other of the framework to help everyone develop their new habits, since change can be hard.

If you and your team start using this framework, you’ll discover that a whole bunch of stuff can actually move to email, and that will mean you and your team are far less likely to see time evaporate to triaging DMs and channel messages that, push come to shove, don’t REALLY need a response right now.

Instead, you’ll be able to schedule deep work blocks on your calendar, close Slack and your email and just….work. Because you’ve set these new communication norms with your colleagues, everyone knows that a DM or email that hasn’t gotten a response is not the result of someone being lazy or rude.

They’re just prioritizing their time and energy on the things that they know are most important given their role. And if something is really, REALLY urgent and can’t wait for that deep work block to end, that’s what phone calls are for.

The product teams for Slack and Teams are very good at knowing that your brain is going struggle to ignore that red dot or bold channel name in your sidebar. And so you’re going to respond to it, and do so at the cost of your personal flow on your own priorities.?

And so, turn those apps off. Email too, when it's time for deep work. And then, work. Then turn them all back on when your deep work block is over. It'll be ok. The discussion about the best pour-over coffee technique will still be there for you to weigh in on when you’ve wrapped your deep work block.?

And you’ll have some DMs and emails to triage. But now you’re triaging on your time, not theirs. And you get to trust that if something had been urgent, they would have called you.

This is all Step 1. Step 2 to come soon.