Death of the Inbox: Ban Email and Get More Work Done

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2. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................3 Chapter 1 ....................7 Chapter 2 ....................13 Chapter 3 ....................22 Chapter 4 ....................25 Conclusion....................29 Why we still use email in the office Why we should ban email in the workplace How to ban email in the office Who doesn’t use email

3. Introduction Advances in internet technology have given us fantastic ways to communicate with each other. In the realm of non-voice alone, you can send SMS via your portable devices using only WiFi or mobile data. You can send short videos or photos with silly filters. You can even communicate with your online contacts using nothing but emojis. Of course, we cannot forget the old standby: the traditional email. Email is one of the main forms of communication in any workplace. Imagine a typical day in the office. You clock in and boot your computer. You are greeted with at least a dozen emails. Containing complaints, instructions, and everything in between, you find yourself dealing with these emails even before your first cup of coffee. And you do this every workday. Talk about stress! But what can you do, right? Email is a part of our daily lives. Majority of corporate communication is handled via email. And then there’s the huge bulk of personal correspondence that you also receive in email form. We can’t deny the fact that email is a fantastic tool that allows us to accomplish many things. But is the way we accomplish these things Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 3

4. efficient? Is email all what it’s cracked up to be? All points lead to NO. Before we give you reasons to stop using email in the workplace, let us first do a little time traveling. Let’s check out a short history of email. History of Email Email rose in use in the 1960s. The first forms of email were quite basic and limited in nature. In fact, they were simply no different than leaving a note to someone on their desk. These emails involved saving a message in a computer and then leaving it for the recipient to read when the latter next uses the equipment. Some early emails also worked only when both sender and recipient were online, just like instant messaging.(source, source) The network through which the first emails traveled was the ARPANET or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. The ARPANET was the foundation of the internet. It was a computer network that was made possible with the financial backing of the United States Department of Defense. (source) Using the ARPANET, the evolution of email moved at a breakneck pace. With the rapid and numerous advances in the internet during the 60s and 70s, email was revolutionized into a form that we now recognize today. It became possible to send emails to specific recipients. Folders were added to make email sorting easier. Early email users in the 70s could sort their messages by inbox and outbox. They were also able to include attachments in their messages. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 4

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6. When the 80s rolled around, more advances were made that resulted in a more widespread use of email. By the mid-80s, email has become one of the standard ways to communicate among academics, government workers, and college students. This was made possible because many universities were part of the ARPANET. It was also around this time that offline access to emails was offered. Keep in mind that internet in the 80s was connected to the telephone line and often involved international calls. Writing an email while online was one expensive exercise. But with the “offline readers” feature one could compose a reply without having to connect to the host email system first. The Rise of Commercial Email Eventually, email was made available commercially. The first of these commercial systems was Eudora. Released in 1988, the email client came with free and full-featured pro versions. Other early commercial email systems available were MCI Mail and Compuserve. By the time the 90s began, there were already about 3 million email accounts in use. The middle of 1996 heralded the launch of HoTMaiL. (source) HoTMaiL became one of the most used Internet-based email systems. It gave users the ability to access their inboxes no matter where they were in the world. This proved quite an improvement compared to ISP-based email providers. A year after their launch, HoTMaiL was purchased by Microsoft for $400 million. By 1997, YahooMail had entered the game. It was also around this time that users were exposed to one of the early email threats — junk email or spam. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 6

7. CHAPTER 1 - WHY WE STILL USE EMAIL IN THE OFFICE Imagine a slice of a work email’s life. Here is an example from a fictional company that is about to open a new store in Phoenix. We have here several exchanges between employees of Tea Cycle, our fictional company. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 7

8. Imagine a slice of a work email’s life. Here is an example from a fictional company that is about to open a new store in Phoenix. We have here several exchanges between employees of Tea Cycle, our fictional company. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 8

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10. Looks familiar, right? Anyone who has ever been hired for a corporate position will recognize this series of messages. Anyone who has been part in any capacity of a corporate organization has participated in an email exchange like this. You can probably predict how the exchange above will continue. As you can see, one party is already lost because she has not received the attachments in the initial email. Additionally, the last message does not include the group email address for the whole team. A few more exchanges deep and we can anticipate that not all people will receive all messages, some recipients will be left out, and the attachments will get lost along the way. Work in an office long enough and you will find yourself participating in this type of email exchange. Email is, without a doubt, one of the most popular methods of communication both in professional and personal settings. The following are some reasons why email remains in use in any business: Email is Free or Cheap Email is free. And in cases where fees are involved, it is a cheap way to keep in contact with family, friends, and co-workers. Compared to other modern forms of communication, such as texting or calling, sending an email will not cost you anything. You will not be charged for minutes or for every SMS or MMS delivered. Even if you don’t use a free email service, you don’t have to shell out money for every message you send. These email services might charge you for storage but their default accounts come with great storage; you might not have to get extra in the first place. Email is also cheap because it allows you to send attachments with your messages. In contrast, if you need to send documents via courier, you will be spending more than zero dollars, for sure. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 10

11. Email Lets You Receive Messages in Real Time Emails arrive in the recipients’ inboxes within seconds. Actual mails, on the other hand, take between one week to never to reach their destinations. In a corporate setting, getting messages in real time is never a bad thing. Immediacy is often given top priority when it comes to business. With email, it is easy to let people know what they need to know when they need to know them. You don’t even have to constantly hit refresh to get updates in your inbox. With push notifications, you will immediately know when you get a new message. No matter where you are, as long as your mobile device is set up with your email account, you will be able to access your inbox. This is of course fantastic, especially if your business deals with time-sensitive issues. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 11

12. Everyone is Using It One reason that may not convince someone to stop using email is the fact that everyone and their grandmothers are using email. This tool’s widespread use makes it an ideal avenue for communication. In the corporate world, practically all workers are required to have email. Even those in the lowest rung of the corporate ladder have to have email. Because how else will management be able to disseminate announcements? How else will Human Resources let someone know that they need to report to Mr. So-and-So’s office first thing Monday morning? a life skill as finding a WiFi hotspot. Because of its prevalence, it has become quite easy to use. You don’t need an advanced degree to be able to use email. Even kids know how to navigate an email dashboard these days. While there are some email services that require setups that can be complicated, the basics of email use are uniform. You have the inbox where new messages are stored. You have several folders where trashed messages, starred, important, and spam messages go. You got a draft folder, too, for messages that you are still in the process of composing. Email is Easy to Use Email has been around for decades. It’s no longer a novelty. It has become such a huge part of our lives that using it has become as common Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 12

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14. The fact that email is easy to use has definitely contributed to its rise as a top communication tool in the workplace. Because why use a tool that can take days to master when you can easily start communicating with co-workers using good, old email? Despite the many forms of online communication that crop up every year, email remains one of the top methods through which the modern corporate man reaches out to his fellow modern corporate man. Email use may be prevalent but it is likely doing your business more harm than good. It’s not all rainbows and puppies in the world of corporate email communication. In fact, the following should be reasons enough for your company to consider banning email. Emails Waste Time Let’s go back to imagining what it’s like to deal with email when we clock in for work. So let’s say you have finished dealing with the unread messages that greeted you upon your arrival. Throughout the day, however, you find yourself looking at the email tab in your browser. When you see a notification, you can’t help but check your inbox. And even when there is no notification, you go to your email account and hit refresh. This constant checking is a time-suck. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 14

15. One way to ensure productivity in a company is to enforce better time management. Constantly checking email, however, is not a good way to manage your time as part of the workforce. According to studies, the average worker spends 23% of the workday dealing with email. That’s almost a quarter of the worker’s time while in the office. That’s around two hours that should really be spent on projects or tasks. On average, a worker checks their email 36 times in an hour (source). These numbers aren’t even the most distressing parts about this daily office behavior. Perhaps even more distressing is the fact that only 14% of the emails we deal with daily are crucial for work (source). So basically, the average worker spends more than a quarter of their workday dealing with emails that mostly have nothing to do with work. Tsk, talk about wasted time. Emails are Distracting Constant switching between work tasks and email is multitasking. And we all know that multitasking is not really what it’s cracked up to be. Multitasking wastes time and may lead to a permanent distracted state (source). A worker who spends a little over two weeks switching between tasks and email will eventually have distracted as a permanent state of mind. It has been proven that work focus is better in settings where email is not factored in. When there is an enforced policy to stop using email, workers are able to focus on their tasks better. (source) Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 15

16. Emails Lead to More Stress Studies show that emails contribute to raised stress levels in workers. In cases where an email ban is in place, it has been found out that workers experience less stress (source). This little nugget of information alone should be a good enough reason to stop using email in the workplace. After all, stressed workers are unproductive. And unproductive workers are liabilities that no one would want in their business. Email is not Ideal for Collaboration Email may be simple to use but it’s not the best tool for collaboration. Email is formatted in a way that is not ideal for a team to work together. Constant emailing back and forth between team members can lead to daunting threads. There is also that one chance that a team member will click REPLY instead of REPLY ALL, as illustrated by the email exchange between the employees of our fictional company, Tea Cycle. This situation can lead to information asymmetry. Additionally, information has a way of getting lost in deep email threads. The same thing can happen to attachments that are included in these emails. Some will get lost, others will get edited without some team members’ knowledge, and the rest will likely not be seen at all. Another reason to stop using email when it comes to collaboration involves new team members. Imagine new team members coming on to be part of a project. If you use email for collaboration, they will likely enter the thread or conversation long after the first message was sent. It’s not fair to have them read back through a good number of messages, some of which may not be useful to the project at all. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 16

17. Email Technology is Outdated Email may be easy to use but there are other applications right now that are better suited for workplace collaborations. These collaboration apps come with different sets of features, too. Whether you collaborate with external business partners or you work purely with your own team, there is a better software out there than email. As we have mentioned previously, collaboration is tricky using email. Modern collaboration apps, however, have made getting work done with a team much easier. These apps are often formatted in a way that leaves no room for information asymmetry. They are also fantastic for keeping files in one place as they often come with storage. Email is Not Secure If you value company data, this is perhaps one of the top reasons you will want to stop using email. Email threats abound even in these days of advanced online security. You have to consider your employees’ level of technological abilities. Despite the obvious signs, there will always be someone who will unwittingly compromise your business by clicking on a malicious email. Some email threats can be relatively harmless but they can also be of the nasty kind. Some threats can steal your money. Others can even control your computer to spread greater destruction all over the world wide web. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 17

18. Email Threats Should you Fear Spam? The canned food, yes, because of its high fat, sodium, and preservative content. But its electronic counterpart is just as unpalatable. Spam messages are unsolicited email messages. More than half of email traffic in recent years were spam messages. A huge bulk of the several hundred billion total emails sent each day is spam. As of December 2016, 61.33% of email traffic worldwide was spam (source). These junk messages are typically commercial in nature. Most of the types of spam sent and received today lead to websites selling products. The number one product offered via spam are pharmaceutical in nature. Other types of spam offers are jobs, easy cash opportunities, and diet products. During the ARPANET era, sending unsolicited emails was highly frowned upon. The first spam message was sent in 1978 to 600 people. The sender was reprimanded and was told not to do it again. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 18

19. Now imagine being able to admonish spammers easily and have them promise not to send junk messages ever again. Wouldn’t this bring about world peace? Unfortunately, just like achieving world peace and despite stricter anti-spam laws, catching spammers is a near impossible task. Since the day the first spam was sent, junk messages remain one of the top email threats we have today. Spam costs businesses billions and billions of dollars annually. It affects productivity and can also lead to network congestion. Worse yet, spam is considered a vehicle of other email threats, such as fraud, identity theft, and malware. Phishing via Spam Fraud comprises of only about 2% of all spam messages. Phishing, however, makes up almost ⅔ of this figure. Phishing is “the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.” Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 19

20. The way phishing is done is fairly simple. Typically, an email with phishing intent will look like a message from your bank or from someone you know. These messages will contain a link that leads to a fake website. You may be encouraged to log in or share details or perhaps authorize a pop-up. These actions will in turn compromise your identity. Using the information gathered, people with malicious intent can breach financial institutions and spread malware. Even a seasoned email user has a hard time identifying a sophisticated phishing scam. According to reports, 85% of organizations have suffered from targeted and personalized phishing attacks. Around ⅓ of phishing emails get opened. Twelve percent of the people who open phishing messages click on the malicious attachment or link (source). This may not be an impressive number but consider the amount of emails sent daily. Even a 1% click through can have devastating effects. Breaches in your company via phishing result in a calamitous ripple effect. Thirty percent of your customers will leave after a company breach. One in three customers has shared that they would stop dealing with a business if said business has suffered from a cyber-security breach. The customer will do this whether they personally experience material loss (source). On average, a targeted phishing attack will cost a company $1.6 million (source). Aside from stealing important personal information, phishing is also one way for cybercriminals to spread malware. Malware Email Threats Spam that tries to sell you dubious products is one thing. Spam that tries to infect your data with malicious software is another. Malware is one of the serious threats that can be transmitted via email. Malware is a general term that covers viruses, spyware, worms, adware, trojan horses, and other malicious programs. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 20

21. Malicious software is spread through email in several ways. One way is by including links that lead to websites with malicious software. Another is by the use of attachments. Modern mail programs have blockers that are fairly wise when it comes to malicious attachments. Attachments with .bat, .exe, .vbs, .com, .ade, .adp, .cpl, or .wsc extensions are typically labeled spam right away. However, a good number of these email threats are still opened, resulting in adverse consequences. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 21

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23. We have given you compelling reasons to stop using email in the office. Let’s say you want to give this email-banning business a try. To make the transition easy, check out the following tips: Ban Email Gradually Don’t ban email in one go. Don’t make a sudden announcement stating, “Oh yeah, we have banned email in the office. From this day forward, all communications must be done in person or using the phone. Kindly follow this policy.” You can imagine that this will not go well with your employees and for good reason, too. Try banning email gradually. Pick a day when your office gets the least amount of email correspondence. Or maybe you can ban email on the slowest day of the work week. Don’t ban email for the whole day, too. Try an initial test for only half of that day. You can have this ban in place for an initial testing period of one month. But you can also go ahead and state that the policy will be in effect for an indefinite period of time. Ban After-Work Emails Another slow way to stop using email in the workplace is to ban workers from accessing it after they clock out. Bringing work home is one of the reasons employees succumb to stress. If you have a policy in place banning access to email after work, you will no doubt help your employees stay productive and healthy. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 23

24. Move Collaboration to a More Advanced Tool When you ban email in the workplace, you may suggest that all communication be done via phone or in person. Collaboration may be tricky when done this way, though, especially if you have remote team members. The solution is to transition the office from email to a collaboration software. With this app in place, it might even become possible for your office to stop using email altogether. This is because most collaboration applications have fantastic built-in messaging features. On top of the messaging capabilities, these more advanced tools are specifically designed for collaboration. They typically feature file-sharing functions, great storage capacities, and excellent security. Offer Alternatives to Emails In the absence of email, there are other tools and methods that you can use for touching base and keeping in contact with your colleagues. Group Chats - these are fantastic for quick conversations. Group chats are also fun channels through which friendships can be established and company culture can be created. These are also great tools for teams that are not co-located. Face-to-face Meetings - for better connection, face-to-face meetings are always the way to go. Connections are made better during actual meetings, too. The usual problems that one can experiences using email, such as information asymmetry and lost attachments, can also be avoided with face-to-face meetings. Collaboration Software - There is a good number of collaboration applications available in the market today. These tools come equipped with features that are more advanced and secure than the common email. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 24

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26. The reasons for banning email in the workplace, even for only after work hours, are rising. Its obvious direct connection to workers’ stress levels cannot be ignored. In fact, evidence is so strong that a new French law came into effect on the first of January, 2017, protecting workers’ “right to disconnect.” Under this law, “Companies with more than 50 workers will be obliged to draw up a charter of good conduct, setting out the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails.” (source) In 2014, Germany passed a law that prohibited managers from emailing or calling workers after work hours. (source) Apart from France and Germany, there are also many companies and individuals who have enforced a zero or limited email policy for work. Great examples are Volkswagen and Daimler. The following are other notable individuals and companies that have banned or limited email use, resulting in better productivity. Claire Burge, productivity guru - Claire Burge stopped using email after getting back from a holiday and seeing 10,000 new messages in her inbox. She employed an auto-responder in her emails and asked people to call her instead. She has reclaimed three hours of her working day and has become more productive. Claire Burge Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 26

27. Atos Origin, an IT services corporation headquartered in Bezons, France - Atos cut email use in their offices. With the help of an internal social network, their employees manage to get more work done even with the considerably reduced reliance on email. In 2013 alone, the company’s operating margin jumped from 6.5 to 7.5 percent. Furthermore, administrative costs also declined from 13 perfect to 10 percent. Atos’s earnings per share also increased by more than 50 percent. Van Meter, an electric-parts distributor in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA - In order to promote work-life balance and to improve company culture, this US-based company implemented a “no email after work” policy. This policy is now part of their current development plans; they even turn off email for employees when they are on holiday. Rarely Impossible, UK-based IT consulting firm- Rarely Impossible has banned email and moved their collaboration to four collaboration tools. “Before, email would be a repository for all communications, as well as interactions with clients and storing documents. Now we use about four different products to put things in their relevant form,” shared Lee Mallon, founder of Rarely Impossible. “I’ve never used email because I don’t find it would help me with anything I’m doing.” - Christopher Nolan, filmmaker Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 27

28. Elon Musk, business magnate, owner and CEO and founder of SpaceX, co-founder of Tesla, Inc., co-chairman of OpenAI, and found and CEO of Neuralink - Elon Musk is known for his rigorous work schedule. He also generally avoids phone calls and emails. John Paul DeJoria, founder of Patron Spirits - “I’d be inundated if I did email. I do phone calls, a little bit of texting. I like the personal touch.” Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 28

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30. For companies to keep up with the advances in their respective industries, it is essential that they get rid of old practices and adapt new ones. This means eliminating communication tools that negatively affect productivity and employ ones that promote it. Email is outdated. And with the advent of better collaboration and messaging tools, email is just about near obsolete. Additionally, this e-book clearly states that email has an adverse effect on a company’s productivity. Clearly, one does not need a more compelling reason to say goodbye to the inbox and transition to a tool better for collaboration. Dead Drop is one such tool. This business to business collaboration application is the better alternative to email. It showcases secure file-sharing, safe messaging, and exceptional collaboration features. It can be useful for one co-located team but it’s also an ideal collaboration tool for remote teams. It is especially handy for companies that work with other companies or external business partners. Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 30

31. Dead Drop Is the Better Alternative to Email Here are ways that Dead Drop can help you wean your team from email: It can be used for sending messages securely. It can be used for collaborating on projects. It can be used for sharing and storing files. It can be used for working with external business partners. SIGN UP FOR A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 31

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33. Death of the Inbox is a perfect complement to The Modern Manager, another free e-book released by Dead Drop Software. The Modern Manager showcases tips and tools for today’s global manager. Check out the The Modern Manager Death of the Inbox : Ban email and get more work done page 33