Showing items posted by Dr Monica Seeley - 353 found.

Email addiction and mental health

Email addiction and mental health go hand in hand. Email addiction is a major cause of stress and hence poor mental health. There are plenty of organisations to help you cope with well documented sources of addiction such as alcohol and substance. But what of chronic email addiction and mental health?  Compulsive checking of emails is often hidden behind phrases like ‘my clients/colleagues expect me to be on-line’, ‘it’s part of my job’, ‘what if I miss an email from a key contact’. Are these reasons justified or just a cover up for deeper problems such as email addiction?

We all have extraordinarily busy periods when it can be prudent to check your email frequently and outside normal office hours (eg year end, major project closing, takeover bid etc). For more normal days, what does checking your email every few minutes really tell us?

Maybe you work in an email dependent culture where people rarely walk and talk. Maybe you feel insecure, anxious or lonely. In that case it is symptomatic of a mental health problem.  Tackling email addiction should be a key priority for every organisation and not just during mental health week.

At a personal level click here to check your level of email-addiction. Then use the top tips below to start breaking the cycle.

1. Switch off all those new email alerts. Click here to see how to still see emails from key clients.
2. Limit the number of times you check your email, for example every 30 minutes. Then gradually extend that gap by 10 minutes each week until you reach a more realistic no-email period for your role eg one hour.
3. Fine yourself if you dip-in between the no-email periods.
4. Celebrate every time you reach you target time with no dips.
5. Tell people what you are doing and provide them with an incentive to talk to you instead of using email.

Still addicted, then seek more help. We can help with email addiction.  For the mental health aspects talk to a specialist.

If you work in an email dependent culture then perhaps it is time to make colleagues aware and especially the potential cost to their well-being and mental health.

Tags: Compulsive checking email, Email Addicton, email culture, Email dependant culture, Mental Health, Mental Health Awareness Week

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Articles of Note on Email Overload & Email Etiquette – February 2017

Hacked emails accounts reveal potentially damaging emails and some off the wall tips on dealing with people who expect an instant response to their emails. Articles of not this month touch on the need to maintain appropriate email etiquette regardless of who you are and whether using a business or personal account.

1.  David Beckham has given up hope of a knighthood in the near future. David Beckham’s personal email account was hacked and revealed email exchanges venting his anger at not being given a knighthood. They also revealed highly sensitive information about his tax affairs – one reason maybe for no knighthood.
2. Barclays lied over £73bn cash call emails. A classic case of using your personal email account for very sensitive business matters. The court has still demanded that all these emails are handed over as evidence.Yet again these emails highlight the point that the only control you have over an email is when you choose to send it. After that you have no control over where it goes. Maybe we need to be exercising more control over hitting send in the first place.
3. Email to gain attention without being pushy. It is not uncommon to receive 100 emails a day and have 2,000+ unread emails in your inbox.’ An extract from Dr Seeley’s latest book Taking Control of Your Inbox. This article focuses on just how to make your email stand out in an already bulging inbox without appearing rude or arrogant.
4. In a culture that calls for instantaneous responses. This is a prevalent culture wherever you work – private or public sector, charities or academia. Indeed one school academic said you were expected to be a clairvoyant and guess what the parent was writing even before they hit send! Here are some off the wall but nonetheless effective tips. We especially like the DND email.

Do you want to reduce the risk of being the subject of an email fiasco?  Talk to us about how our email best workshops and coaching can help.

Tags: David Beckham, email etiquette at work, Email fiasco, email overload, Taking Control of Your Inbox

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Don’t be distracted by every new email

Being distracted by each new email as it arrives can be a very expensive drain on your time, well-being and productivity.  In this video we show you how to limit those unnecessary email distractions yet still be aware of emails from important contacts eg clients, the boss etc.

We would love your comments eg what topics to cover, was this one helpful etc.  Click here to add them on YouTube.

And, click here to calculate how much time you are wasting dealing with all the unnecessary emails.

Tags: email distractions, email overload, email rules, improve personal productivity, well being

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January 2017 – Articles of Note

1. Creating a very strong password – many people reported having their social media accounts hacked.  First, check what apps have access to your account and delete any you do not recognise.  Second and most crucial step is to change your password and make sure it’s really strong.
2. Email signature – what to include – this is a recurrent theme.  Most email signatures are far too long and contain too many images. Email correspondence is not the place to market either your business or yourself.  Keep the signature simple yet informative. This Quora post outlines what vital information to include and what to omit.
3. Hashtag your email for easy searching – you can add a hidden hashtag to emails you search which can make it easier for you to find them.  This gem is thanks to Michael Einstein my fellow IORG board member.
4. Oxford college apologises for sharing names of rejected applicants – this is perhaps the worst email fiasco for some time.  Hertford College sent an email to each reject with the list of all those who had been rejected!  A real case of send in haste and repent at leisure.
5. Uncivil lawyers get personal …in all-staff email – yes even solicitors can forget the difference between Reply and Reply-All when airing personal grievances. Maybe not suprising their firm (King & Wood Mailesons)  is in administration but suspect the two key players (Tim Taylor and George Pinkham) might have difficulty finding new jobs after this email fiasco!

How can you safeguarding your organisation from the risks of such email fiascos? One easy way is to invite Mesmo Consultancy to run an email management and business email etiquette masterclass.

Tags: business email etiquette, Email fiasco, email management, George Pinkham, Hertford College, IORG, King & Wood Mailesons, Mesmo Consultancy, Michael Einstein, Oxford, Quora, Strong Password

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Five top tips to creating strong passwords

Here are five top tips to creating a strong password which are the first line of defence against cyber crime.

1.  Strong passwords which are really very easy to construct and remember. Take a phrase and then build a password from the first letter of each word and turn some into capitals and numerics, for example make your ‘i’ and ‘1’ and add a couple of symbols.  For example ‘I love playing golf in the summer at Parkstone Golf Club’ can become 1Lp9itS@Pgc.

2.  Consider using some form of password management software such as LastPass, Zoho Vault and Dashlane.

3.  Where you have a choice adopt devices which have more than just password protection for example finger and retina recognition.

4. Try to avoid logging in to accounts with your social media accounts.  Instead create a new password.

5. When using a mobile device use an app which mask your typing such as Blur.

Don’t forget too to be extra vigilant with your email account because email is often the open backdoor for a cyber attack.

For more about how Mesmo Consultancy is helping our clients to reduce the risk of email cyber crime through email best practice contact us now.

Tags: Blur, DashLane, email cyber crime, Facebook hacked, KeePass, LastPass, Strong Password, Zoho Vault

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