Book Recommendations - Email

Let's tell the truth...we ALL need help with knowing how to productively use our email.  Luckily, many people are writing books on this topic and I've recommended a few of them below.  As always, they are listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name, so be sure to scroll down the page to see what might strike your fancy. 

Note:  I do have a 50-page Learning Tool that you can obtain by going to this site.

Dean, Randall.  Taming the Email Beast:  45 Key Strategies for Better Managing Your E-mail Overload and Regaining Your Email Sanity!

What can I say?  I love this book!  I have yet to meet Randy Dean in person but I feel like I know him.  I have been fortunate enough to have him as a guest on a teleseminar (which is still available to download for free) and we have talked many additional times by phone as speaking & writing colleagues. The ideas in his new book, which is a recent Amazon #1 Email Bestseller, will make a huge difference in the way that you process and manage your email. The book is packed with real strategies that Randy has shared with professionals around the world over the past few years.  This one is definitely worth buying and reading!!

Hurst, Mark.  Bit Literacy:  Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload.

I have been buying this book in large quantities and have now used it in several workshops and am giving it to many of my consulting clients (and to all Tier 2 & Tier 3 members of MEMc).  Not only do I love the way this guy writes (he's very smart, articulate, and clever), but I find his message, tips, and tools extremely helpful.  It doesn't matter whether you agree with everything he says or not...you will think about your email differently and you might even empty your email in-box.  Woo-hoo!

Jensen, Bill. The Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways to Accomplish Less and More.

Are you kidding me? How could I not buy this book? And, I loved it even though I disagreed with portions of it. I gained a number of very useable ideas and appreciate the author's irreverent style. He is pushing hard to try to make his point because if he tip-toed around it, most of us wouldn't get it. By pushing so hard (beyond what I am comfortable with, anyway), I got part of his points, which may have been his point after all. Worth reading.

McGhee, Sally. Take Back Your Life! Using Microsoft Outlook to Get Organized and Stay Organized.

For anyone who uses Microsoft Outlook, this books is worth reading...and even if you don't, most of the concepts apply across the various types of productivity software. As I skimmed this book at the bookstore prior to buying it, I thought, 'Hmmmm...this sounds a lot like David Allen's work.' Then, I read the book and found that she and David Allen (prior to both of them forming their own companies) had worked together and had developed the ideas that are foundational to this book (and David Allen's Getting Things Done system). So, since I was already a big fan of the ideas, this just strengthened my knowledge of how to implement the practices in my life. McGhee writes clearly and gives readers step-by-step ways to use the ideas she discusses. Read it, take what works for you, and leave the rest behind. (Of course, this is pretty much my advice for all books!)

Morgenstern, Julie. Never Check E-Mail in the Morning (And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work).

Morgenstern originally published this book under the title _Making Work Work_, and then realized that the provocative phrase "Never Check Email in the Morning" would make her book fly off the shelves. It should fly off the shelf and right into your hands because if you want to be more productive, then I promise you will find ideas within the covers of this book that you can use immediately. She presents workable ideas for meetings, delegating, planning your day, handling paperwork, and more. It's paperback, inexpensive, and worth getting and reading today!

Sherwood, Kaitlin. Overcome Email Overload: Get Through Your Electronic Mail Faster.

I wish she would update her books, but essentially, Microsoft Outlook 2000/2002 hasn't changed much with the newer versions. She has a plethora of ideas that I have put into practice. If you use Eudora, she also has a version for that software. VERY HELPFUL!

Shipley, David & Schwalbe, Will.  SEND:  The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.

Much of what's in this book is common sense...at least one would think so.  However, a good portion of what the authors share clearly isn't being demonstrated as common sense or common practice up to this point.  Read this book and buy some for friends and colleagues, too.

Song, Mike; Halsey, Vicki; & Burress, Tim.  The Hamster Revolution:  Stop Info-Glut--Reclaim Your Life.

Although the use of a hamster as the main character throughout this book is a tiny bit irritating, the book itself is excellent.  You just have to ignore Mr. Hamster.  These authors have done extensive research on how to increase productivity by better using (or not using) email and they present their ideas clearly in their book.  I have also taken several webinars from the authors and have found those useful as well.

Trapani, Gina. Lifehacker: 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day.

A hacker is "Someone who solves a problem in a clever or non-obvious way. A lifehacker uses workarounds and shortcuts to overcome everyday difficulties of the modern worker: an interrupt-driven existence of too much to do and too many distractions to keep you from doing it" (p. xxiii). And that is exactly what she provides in this book--cool ways to use technology to be more effective, efficient, safe, and productive. How could I not love this book?! Some of her ideas are fairly high-tech and others are lower tech. I'd be stunned if you read this and didn't find at least 10 ideas to put into practice.