Six Levels of Urgency in Modern Communication

Scott Jeffrey — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:10:23 +0000

Here they are, listed from most to least urgent:

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.
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
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.
Email: Email transformed the way the world—especially business—communicates. With email, you can choose to respond slowly or quickly, or not at all.
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.
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.

The Illusion of Urgency

Scott Jeffrey — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:17:27 +0000

Ever notice what executives do on an airplane? As soon as the airplane touches down on the runway, their smart phones shoot out of their holsters as if they’re in a deadly duel. Ferociously, they check emails and listen to voicemails as if the fate of the nation depends on their responsiveness.

Indeed, we’ve adapted quite well to a technology that’s been pervasive for less than two decades.

You’re probably familiar with CrackBerry addictions. The ring or vibration of an incoming message triggers an immediate need to respond. It’s so conditioned that it has become an involuntary Pavlovian response.

In understanding the nature of the human mind, this new phenomenon is not surprising. The mind craves movement and activity. It loves the “new” and the “latest.”

The mind constantly tracks movement. Try sitting in an airport without gazing up at the TV monitors. You might have no interest in what’s on, but your eyes will find their way to the screen. In fact, if you sit down in an empty auditorium with a four-inch monitor on stage, your eyes will stay fixated on the motion within the tiny monitor.

This innate drive for activity helps explain our obsession with responding to the ongoing stream of text messages and emails.

Realize that you don’t have to respond to an email or text right away. It’ll be there when you’re ready to read and thoughtfully respond to it. The same goes for snail mail. Do you feel compelled to open your mail as soon as you walk through the door? Is that really the most opportune time to do so?

When you are more aware of your mind’s compulsive need for new activity, you’re less likely to fall into its trap.