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2013-08-05 04:06:46
Magazine Monitor Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts
The standard out-of-office message goes like this: "I am now away until x and
will deal with your email on my return."
Useful, yes. And a way of signalling that you are off having a lovely time
while your recipient is still at work - possibly in a hot, sticky office. But
it also means your first days back are spent hacking through thousands of
emails, CCs and BCCs - many of which will now be out of date.
Perhaps there is a another way. At his desk at the beginning of August when
many are heading for the nearest autobahn out of town, BBC Berlin correspondent
Stephen Evans stumbled upon a new approach to dealing with that post-holiday
email mountain.
If you send an email to Joana Breidenbach of charity fundraisers Betterplace,
you get the following reply: "Many thanks for your mail. Unfortunately I won't
be able to read it, as I am taking my annual email sabbatical. From August 1-29
all my emails will be automatically deleted. See you in September, Yours
Joana."
It's the third year she's chosen what for her is "August unplugged" and she
told the BBC it was "liberating". She normally receives 100 emails a day and it
was "overwhelming" to be on holiday knowing they would be there when she got
back.
Switching off was her way of keeping sane, she says. "I was really surprised
because I am a tech junkie but I don't feel overwhelmed now. It means I switch
off and I don't even notice."
She's told her colleagues that they can send her a text message in a real
emergency and she still reads websites and Twitter - but the email torrent is
blocked.
It also allows her to redirect her thinking. "I find that it is a tremendous
help to focus on different things. Some of the best ideas I have come out of
this free space."
Danah Boyd, a fellow at the Berkman Center at Harvard University and an adviser
to Microsoft, also takes an email sabbatical. "Have you ever returned from
vacation more stressed out than when you left? Is the reason because you came
home to 10,000 email messages?" she asked in a recent post.
But does she worry about missing out? Yes, she says, But not as much as she
worries about what would happen if she didn't take a proper break.
"When I'm burnt out, I'm... a terrible person to be around," Danah says.
Something to bear in mind the next time you type, "I will deal with your email
on my return".