Here is a review of my book, wanted to share – Inbox Detox:
If you’re anything like me, you can’t function without email. We rely on it daily for communication across the office, across the city, and across the world, and it has probably had a greater impact on global communication than even the telephone. And yet, there are countless untold C-level executives with thousands of unread emails in their inboxes, an embarrassing amount of people who call you just to “make sure you received that email” they sent five minutes ago, and more SPAM than you can imagine.
In Inbox Detox, Marsha Egan offers both the diagnosis and the cure for toxic email behaviors. She asks readers to cast a critical eye on their own email (and, by proxy, productivity) habits, provides a model, 12-Step Program Style, for dealing with those habits, and then details newer, more productive ones. Egan breaks down the email issue into its most basic problem: email misuse is a constant drain on productivity, and therefore a constant drain on the bank account.
Inbox Detox is basically a step-by-step guide for both companies and individuals who have recognized that their own email habits have become problematic. Egan takes the readers through a program to help them clean out their inboxes and learn to manage their workload, making it clear that this is about more than just moving a few emails around.
When I first picked up Inbox Detox, I was unsure if I would find anything in it for me. After all, email has become such an integral part of business, and everyone handles it differently, so what could this book possibly teach me? I quickly found that I was absolutely wrong. Egan doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to getting the reader to call his own behavior into question; with the in-book evaluation and diagnosis tool, readers will know the extent of their own email problems within the first 30 pages of the book. She holds readers accountable for their own email habits – likely the only way to persuade them to actually change.
Egan also answers possible critics right out of the gate. She makes it clear from page one that this isn’t just about changing practices, but habits – a much harder cycle to break. She asks readers to fundamentally alter the way they go about their business in order to become more productive. And Egan has gone out of her way to make the book relatable. Her style is companionable and easy-to-read, and the book and the tips within are easily digestible – pulled quotes, graphics, and the all too recognizable “Toxic Emailer Alerts” make for quick and engaging reading.
Though this isn’t the most formal of business books, Egan keeps the information accessible to a wide audience. The message is clear: email is a widespread problem that affects both businesses and individuals in a very real way. The changes Egan calls for in Inbox Detox certainly don’t seem like rocket science, and you may pass on the book without giving it a chance, thinking you’ve got your email under control. But after reading this book, let me assure you – you don’t.
Klaus Givskov-Christensen
For more on this book, please visit http://EganEmailSolutions.com/inboxdetox.html
