I think my biggest challenge is not checking email constantly. There is really never anything urgent. I have put scheduled email checking time (which also must be the responding time), and I have a sticky note on my computer reminding me the email checking time to help me avoid it.
I absolutely do this. Having a question, typing it out, and scheduling it to go out at 9am the next working day is habit now.
Recognizing that power dynamic you mentioned, I also am explicit about different rules for my students. I tell them to email me whenever they need to. I’ll respond when I can, but they should not hesitate to pass things my way even if it’s in the wee smalls of the morning. I tell them that I’ll set and manage my own boundaries and they’re not responsible for that.
Jan 28, 2023·edited Jan 28, 2023Liked by Loleen Berdahl
I love this post! I love the tone you set in your professional life. It is freeing. When I work freelance, I always set clear boundaries. I was accessible between 9am and 3pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday with rare exception. It allowed me the time I needed to actually get work done. I am very appreciative of the example you set, Loleen.
Now that the freelance is off to the side, I have set work hours with flexible hours. I also use the scheduling option on whatever email software I use. It allows me to offload the brain when I choose (or need) to, but doesn't infringe upon people's outside of work time. I've also just left email replies in the draft folder and press send when work hours begin. Although, it does raise an eyebrow or two when someone receives 8 emails between 8:30 am and 8:35 am. ;)
I almost always schedule my emails to send during work hours. I have noticed a huge reduction in email responses I receive during the evenings and weekends since I started doing that. I have not yet added a disclaimer about email response to my signature line. Thank you for providing such a helpful template that I can personalize and incorporate.
I truly appreciate this post and am so glad you wrote this! Thank you for noting the power imbalances that may affect folks and make them feel like they need to respond ASAP to something--this is a key thing to say out loud! I feel this as a business owner, too--I struggle not to respond ASAP to potential clients or consulting gigs, so I added in a note to my email signature saying the hours when I check/respond to emails (10am-4pm M-F) and it also stops me from replying right in the moment! Thanks for this post. :)
This is great advice. Our leadership team has a 7-7 email policy (ie, no emails between 7pm and 7am), weekdays only, and it's easy to just set them to send the next day if needed. The comments about power imbalance are especially apt. Some faculty members send detailed emails to staff over the weekend, not realizing that it makes the staff very stressed about Monday morning. There is almost never a good reason for it, apart from either mentally checking it off your own to-do list or proving how much you are working. (But I have also met with resistance when I try to explain this to some faculty members.)
When I advise instructors on creating their course syllabi, I recommend that they include any boundaries they have about when they respond to emails, read discussion forums in the LMS, etc. I tell them that not only does it give students a heads up about when they can expect to hear back from instructors, but it's also a way for them to role model these type of boundaries. If they want, they can even add a note encouraging students to set boundaries as well. I'm not sure how many take my advice on that last part.
I think my biggest challenge is not checking email constantly. There is really never anything urgent. I have put scheduled email checking time (which also must be the responding time), and I have a sticky note on my computer reminding me the email checking time to help me avoid it.
I absolutely do this. Having a question, typing it out, and scheduling it to go out at 9am the next working day is habit now.
Recognizing that power dynamic you mentioned, I also am explicit about different rules for my students. I tell them to email me whenever they need to. I’ll respond when I can, but they should not hesitate to pass things my way even if it’s in the wee smalls of the morning. I tell them that I’ll set and manage my own boundaries and they’re not responsible for that.
I love this post! I love the tone you set in your professional life. It is freeing. When I work freelance, I always set clear boundaries. I was accessible between 9am and 3pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday with rare exception. It allowed me the time I needed to actually get work done. I am very appreciative of the example you set, Loleen.
Now that the freelance is off to the side, I have set work hours with flexible hours. I also use the scheduling option on whatever email software I use. It allows me to offload the brain when I choose (or need) to, but doesn't infringe upon people's outside of work time. I've also just left email replies in the draft folder and press send when work hours begin. Although, it does raise an eyebrow or two when someone receives 8 emails between 8:30 am and 8:35 am. ;)
I almost always schedule my emails to send during work hours. I have noticed a huge reduction in email responses I receive during the evenings and weekends since I started doing that. I have not yet added a disclaimer about email response to my signature line. Thank you for providing such a helpful template that I can personalize and incorporate.
I truly appreciate this post and am so glad you wrote this! Thank you for noting the power imbalances that may affect folks and make them feel like they need to respond ASAP to something--this is a key thing to say out loud! I feel this as a business owner, too--I struggle not to respond ASAP to potential clients or consulting gigs, so I added in a note to my email signature saying the hours when I check/respond to emails (10am-4pm M-F) and it also stops me from replying right in the moment! Thanks for this post. :)
This is great advice. Our leadership team has a 7-7 email policy (ie, no emails between 7pm and 7am), weekdays only, and it's easy to just set them to send the next day if needed. The comments about power imbalance are especially apt. Some faculty members send detailed emails to staff over the weekend, not realizing that it makes the staff very stressed about Monday morning. There is almost never a good reason for it, apart from either mentally checking it off your own to-do list or proving how much you are working. (But I have also met with resistance when I try to explain this to some faculty members.)
When I advise instructors on creating their course syllabi, I recommend that they include any boundaries they have about when they respond to emails, read discussion forums in the LMS, etc. I tell them that not only does it give students a heads up about when they can expect to hear back from instructors, but it's also a way for them to role model these type of boundaries. If they want, they can even add a note encouraging students to set boundaries as well. I'm not sure how many take my advice on that last part.