Six Levels of Urgency in Modern Communication

Here they are, listed from most to least urgent:

1. Face-to-Face: When someone comes up to you at your desk, you can’t send him to voicemail or put him in your spam folder. The interaction is imminent. Face-to-face interaction is the most urgent form of communication because you are forced to respond in the NOW.
2. Instant / Text Messaging: IMing is the second most urgent form of communication, followed closely by text messaging. When someone IMs you, they have a good sense that you’re available and expect a prompt response
3. Telephone: When the phone rings, you have the option of answering it or letting it go to voicemail. Most people, however, are conditioned to respond to a ringing phone as if the caller was standing right in front of them.
4. Email: Email transformed the way the world—especially business—communicates.  With email, you can choose to respond slowly or quickly, or not at all.
5. Social Networking: Perhaps your company has other virtual communication devices like forums and social networking applications. For most users, Twitter falls into this group. The cadence of responding in these mediums varies from group to group.
6. Snail Mail / Facsimile: A prompt response is rarely expected from these communication mediums unless the fax requires an immediate signature, which would bump it up to level 3.

Notice that these communication mediums represent different levels of urgency—they should NOT be treated the same way.

When a phone call or text message is as urgent as a face-to-face interaction and email is as urgent as a phone call, requiring in the moment attention, you’ve lost any chance of productivity and your creativity is stifled. Ultimately, a healthy life-work balance cannot be achieved when all communication forms are equally urgent.

If you don’t learn to honor your time, it’s unlikely anyone else will.

Regain control of your time by placing each communication medium in the proper context. Scheduling time to respond to email, for example, is more effective than keeping your inbox perpetually open.

Related posts:

1. The Illusion of Urgency
2. Reclaiming Ownership of Your Time
3. Five Levels of Effective Communication
4. How to Write an Effective Email
5. Six Principles for Effective Communication at Work