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The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You
Is email taking over your life? Meet Harold, an HR director so overwhelmed by email he feels like a hamster on a wheel. Just in time, Harold meets a coach who shifts his focus from time management to a simple yet surprising new way to manage email.
The coach helps Harold conquer email overload, write incredibly effective messages, and get organized forever. Suddenly, Harold can find every file in a flash! Harold saves 15 days a year, reclaims his life, and propels his career to new heights.
The Hamster Revolution is packed with surprising strategies and powerful tech tips. It includes a landmark case study that shows how 2,000 Capital One associates each saved over two weeks a year. Now in its tenth printing, this best-seller is a must read for every busy professional.
The coach helps Harold conquer email overload, write incredibly effective messages, and get organized forever. Suddenly, Harold can find every file in a flash! Harold saves 15 days a year, reclaims his life, and propels his career to new heights.
The Hamster Revolution is packed with surprising strategies and powerful tech tips. It includes a landmark case study that shows how 2,000 Capital One associates each saved over two weeks a year. Now in its tenth printing, this best-seller is a must read for every busy professional.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
28 people are currently reading
341 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 29, 2016
A practical book that can make you save time to focus on more important things in the office. I am talking of the time that you normally spend on work emails. When I started reading this book last week, I immediately implemented some of the major ideas in this book and in one of my emails my boss wrote back: "Great work here." Not sure it was because of sending him only one email instead of 8 or the way I crafted those emails making them more actionable, concise, direct-to-the-point and with only 1 or 2 addressees. Prior to reading this book, I would send each of the eight emails to their addresses, copy him and my teammates. I did not do that. Rather, I sent only one email to my boss with the 7 others attached and I planned to just verbally inform my teammates about the status of the project during our weekly meeting.
"Less is more" says this book or to be more specific "send less, receive less." The more people you copy, the more responses you'll get and some of them are just "Thanks" or "Noted" and you delete them but you spend time opening and reading them, right? So, this book says that you don't have to say thank you for receiving every email unless there is anything actionable other than hopefully making that person elated for your thankfulness. The book recommends that maybe in your next necessary email, put a general statement saying that you appreciate that person's regular feedback or his/her prompt communication style.
The book also gives other tips such as the COTA (Clients, Output, Team, Admin) as the general folders for your email and even you own directory in the networks "My Documents." The authors say that all files can be categorized into any of these four and that would make the searching for your documents faster. I have not done this but I will start looking at my directory in the office tomorrow to see if this is true.
I have been reading too much fiction and some self-development books provide distractions from the novels and short stories that I have been devouring lately. Also, I really need to cut down on the time I spend on emails in the morning. The book says that nowadays based on some surveys normally spend 40% if his or her time on emails and we just don't have training on this.
That caught my attention right away. Mine really was more of 50% and it scared me a bit so I promised myself to reduce it to 20-30% in the next few weeks onwards.
"Less is more" says this book or to be more specific "send less, receive less." The more people you copy, the more responses you'll get and some of them are just "Thanks" or "Noted" and you delete them but you spend time opening and reading them, right? So, this book says that you don't have to say thank you for receiving every email unless there is anything actionable other than hopefully making that person elated for your thankfulness. The book recommends that maybe in your next necessary email, put a general statement saying that you appreciate that person's regular feedback or his/her prompt communication style.
The book also gives other tips such as the COTA (Clients, Output, Team, Admin) as the general folders for your email and even you own directory in the networks "My Documents." The authors say that all files can be categorized into any of these four and that would make the searching for your documents faster. I have not done this but I will start looking at my directory in the office tomorrow to see if this is true.
I have been reading too much fiction and some self-development books provide distractions from the novels and short stories that I have been devouring lately. Also, I really need to cut down on the time I spend on emails in the morning. The book says that nowadays based on some surveys normally spend 40% if his or her time on emails and we just don't have training on this.
That caught my attention right away. Mine really was more of 50% and it scared me a bit so I promised myself to reduce it to 20-30% in the next few weeks onwards.
August 28, 2012
This was a pretty good book, a quick read at least. It had some good tips for dealing with work email (not really practical for personal email). The strangest thing was the book was partially about how to make email direct and to the point. But, the book took winding roads to make it longer. You probably could have got the message across in 4 chapters.
Still, worth reading if you feel overwhelmed by work email.
Still, worth reading if you feel overwhelmed by work email.
June 16, 2018
Quick, easy read with some really good tips on making the most of your emails and reducing unnecessary email. Really applicable in a work setting, less so for personal email. I read this book because I've felt VERY bogged down with email lately, and feel the need to get control over it. I have already started implementing some of the tips, and hope I can share in the office. The manner in which the tips are shared (story involving a hamster), is a little corny, but also kind of cute and silly.
January 3, 2014
This book has great tips on decreasing email overload and better managing your information, whether at work or at home. I am excited to start implementing some of the ideas. However, I felt the book was corny with the hamster. The hamster wasn't an analogy, it was literal where one of the main characters was a hamster and didn't even know it. I just thought that that whole idea was lame. I understand why the authors thought it would be witty and fun to do this, since people with email overload are "on a hamster wheel," but I just thought it was corny. I would have rather cut out some of the storyline as well and gotten right to the meat, but I realize that most books aren't like this. I did like that the authors explained their points well throughout the text so the reader understood what they were saying. Overall, I think the advice and tips were wonderful, but I would recommend getting the shorter version of this book if possible. Perhaps a summary with all the meaty parts laid out for your already.
October 25, 2013
I liked this book! The hamster thing is just kitschy but the comparison to spinning your wheels all day in email is real... I took away a number of ideas for myself personally to use though some will not work exactly...it was worth it to me, I have stopped to think about why I am sending an email, if it is necessary (can i thank them in person next time i see them or in a different message that has a purpose besides saying thank you, etc), how to present the content to make it most effective, etc. I wish the organization method would work but I don't think his method would apply well to what I do... But I did get some good food for thought about organzing my document folders and email folders similarly for more clarity, etc. super fast and easy read!
July 14, 2009
Super simple, nothing really revolutionary, but did highlight the fact that no one really know how to 'speak' email.
This is what you need to think about when writing one:
Brief, Warm Greeting
Action Summary
* Specific action, purpose & response time
* Dig up context
Background:
* Clear, concise and relevant
* Bullet points & numbers
* clear ,bold paragraph titles
Close:
*Next step and niceties
* sig
done! I've used the template quite a bit and it does really seem to help.
This is what you need to think about when writing one:
Brief, Warm Greeting
Action Summary
* Specific action, purpose & response time
* Dig up context
Background:
* Clear, concise and relevant
* Bullet points & numbers
* clear ,bold paragraph titles
Close:
*Next step and niceties
* sig
done! I've used the template quite a bit and it does really seem to help.
May 29, 2025
Cringy, dated, and short.
The writing style tried to be funny, but fell flat. Perhaps if the authors had been better writers it might have worked better (like Patrick Lencioni’s books). For example, a mark of an amateur fiction writer is overusing different words for “said” and “asked”: “‘Am I in analysis or something?’ quipped Harold, rolling his eyes.” Harold raised his eyebrows no less than four times in the story. Etc.
Any book that’s 17 or 18 years old is bound to be dated a bit in the technology department. I winced when I saw reference to a PDA and Blackberries, and Instant Message was a foreign concept to an HR Director.
This book really could have been a blog post. I don’t say it lightly, since I know that’s an insult, but there was a ton of filler—only about 106 pages of actual contiguous book, with an introduction, appendices, references, an index, pages of acknowledgments, a section about their company, about the authors, and even about the publisher. If they had cut all that, given their three tools, and explained them without the hamster gimmick, it would have been a moderately sized blog post.
As for the actual concepts, they were okay. Some advice seemed solid, like the 1-2-3 email quality tool. Other things, like prefixing the email subject line with “Action, Info, Request, Confirmed, and Delivery” seem nice in principle, but would make you look bizarre in today’s environment. Other recommended acronyms never caught on either, like EOM, NTN, or NRN. They would not improve communication if I used them.
The A-B-C email quality tool recommends BLUF as a technique, I guess, but the formatting seems a bit awkward.
COTA was an interesting filing system, but I really don’t see it was an easy way to categorize work. I’m much more fond of my hybrid PARA-Johnny.Decimal filing system and won’t be switching to COTA. However, it’s neat to see another method I haven’t encountered before.
The writing style tried to be funny, but fell flat. Perhaps if the authors had been better writers it might have worked better (like Patrick Lencioni’s books). For example, a mark of an amateur fiction writer is overusing different words for “said” and “asked”: “‘Am I in analysis or something?’ quipped Harold, rolling his eyes.” Harold raised his eyebrows no less than four times in the story. Etc.
Any book that’s 17 or 18 years old is bound to be dated a bit in the technology department. I winced when I saw reference to a PDA and Blackberries, and Instant Message was a foreign concept to an HR Director.
This book really could have been a blog post. I don’t say it lightly, since I know that’s an insult, but there was a ton of filler—only about 106 pages of actual contiguous book, with an introduction, appendices, references, an index, pages of acknowledgments, a section about their company, about the authors, and even about the publisher. If they had cut all that, given their three tools, and explained them without the hamster gimmick, it would have been a moderately sized blog post.
As for the actual concepts, they were okay. Some advice seemed solid, like the 1-2-3 email quality tool. Other things, like prefixing the email subject line with “Action, Info, Request, Confirmed, and Delivery” seem nice in principle, but would make you look bizarre in today’s environment. Other recommended acronyms never caught on either, like EOM, NTN, or NRN. They would not improve communication if I used them.
The A-B-C email quality tool recommends BLUF as a technique, I guess, but the formatting seems a bit awkward.
COTA was an interesting filing system, but I really don’t see it was an easy way to categorize work. I’m much more fond of my hybrid PARA-Johnny.Decimal filing system and won’t be switching to COTA. However, it’s neat to see another method I haven’t encountered before.
July 18, 2017
This book was recommended to me via a colleague in preparation for a meeting. I actually liked the model it lays out regarding reducing the number of emails that you encounter on a daily basis. The book lays out a simple plan that not only brings about change within your own email habits, but gives you a roadmap to roll out the same changes across your organization for an overall reduction in emails generated. Pretty damning to realize how much time is spent on email in a year (close to four months of workdays) and pretty good cause for reflection and possible adoption. The model is fairly simple. First, you 1-2-3:
1 - Is the email Needed?
2 - Is the email Appropriate?
3 - Is the email Targeted?
Then move on to Documenting the Email using the A-B-C method:
A: Action Summary
B: Background
C: Closing
Important to note: You'll want to frame your subject with something clear and concise for the next method so the book recommends: "Action:, Info:, Request:, Confirmed:, OR Delivery:" with a descriptive title to follow
For filing you can utilize the C-O-T-A method which transfers across all industries regardless of job:
C-Clients (Internal or External Clients)
O- Output (Team's Products & Services)
T- Teams (Team(s))
A- Administrative (Non-Core Job Responsibilities such as expense reports etc)
All of this being said so you can then get to P-R-I-D-E:
P-Plan
R-Respond
I-Innovate
D-Decide
E-Execute
more efficiently.
I could see this being useful if you could get an entire organization functioning around this methodology. Especially for filing alone. But cutting back on the amount of unnecessary email is critical for any business at this point.
Easy to digest, easy to get through quickly (100-105 pages though I did audiobook) and it's sort of a "fable" in that it's about a guy who 'becomes' a hamster on a wheel of email.
1 - Is the email Needed?
2 - Is the email Appropriate?
3 - Is the email Targeted?
Then move on to Documenting the Email using the A-B-C method:
A: Action Summary
B: Background
C: Closing
Important to note: You'll want to frame your subject with something clear and concise for the next method so the book recommends: "Action:, Info:, Request:, Confirmed:, OR Delivery:" with a descriptive title to follow
For filing you can utilize the C-O-T-A method which transfers across all industries regardless of job:
C-Clients (Internal or External Clients)
O- Output (Team's Products & Services)
T- Teams (Team(s))
A- Administrative (Non-Core Job Responsibilities such as expense reports etc)
All of this being said so you can then get to P-R-I-D-E:
P-Plan
R-Respond
I-Innovate
D-Decide
E-Execute
more efficiently.
I could see this being useful if you could get an entire organization functioning around this methodology. Especially for filing alone. But cutting back on the amount of unnecessary email is critical for any business at this point.
Easy to digest, easy to get through quickly (100-105 pages though I did audiobook) and it's sort of a "fable" in that it's about a guy who 'becomes' a hamster on a wheel of email.
April 30, 2020
I was hoping that in this book I would pick up some new tools and techniques. There in fact helpful processes and methods for managing email and document overload. However, the analogous hamster trope was overused and distracting from the goal of the book.
I believe “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, “When” by Daniel Pink, and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear are effectively and stylistically better at teaching you core philosophical changes to being more productive and consistent. This book could have been summarized as a long blog post or article. There is just not enough there to warrant its purchase.
I think the book missed the opportunity to go deeper psychologically and socially into the problem of “noise” in email and how it kills productivity in the aim of looking buys. That is what Newport’s Deep Work nails perfectly. However, if you are overloaded with email and want a quick fix, check it out from the library or borrow it for some helpful tools.
I believe “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, “When” by Daniel Pink, and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear are effectively and stylistically better at teaching you core philosophical changes to being more productive and consistent. This book could have been summarized as a long blog post or article. There is just not enough there to warrant its purchase.
I think the book missed the opportunity to go deeper psychologically and socially into the problem of “noise” in email and how it kills productivity in the aim of looking buys. That is what Newport’s Deep Work nails perfectly. However, if you are overloaded with email and want a quick fix, check it out from the library or borrow it for some helpful tools.
June 10, 2019
Op het werk worden we overspoeld door e-mail; gemiddeld besteedt de kenniswerker er een volle twee uur per dag aan. Toch krijgt de grote meerderheid van de werknemer geen specifieke cursus om met deze tool om te gaan. Dit boek wil deze leemte opvullen.
Door middel van vier lessen uit dit boek, gebracht in parabelvorm, krijg je je inbox weer onder controle.
Die lessen zijn samen te vatten als: verminder de hoeveelheid e-mail die je zelf verstuurt, zeker als je een discussie verwacht (dan kan je beter even vergaderen), verbeter de kwaliteit van je e-mail (geen lange verhalen, geen "Hallo" als onderwerp van een zakelijke mail), durf het mailprobleem met je team te bespreken (en doe dat door feedback te vragen over je eigen mails, dat triggert ook een gedachtengang bij je collega's), en vind je informatie snel terug (door je e-mail-mappen, je PC-mappen en je fysieke kast te ordenen volgens het zelfde KOTA-systeem: Klanten, Output, Team en Administratie)
Een fijn boekje voor iedereen die meer tijd aan zijn inhoudelijke werk, en minder uren aan e-mail wil besteden.
Door middel van vier lessen uit dit boek, gebracht in parabelvorm, krijg je je inbox weer onder controle.
Die lessen zijn samen te vatten als: verminder de hoeveelheid e-mail die je zelf verstuurt, zeker als je een discussie verwacht (dan kan je beter even vergaderen), verbeter de kwaliteit van je e-mail (geen lange verhalen, geen "Hallo" als onderwerp van een zakelijke mail), durf het mailprobleem met je team te bespreken (en doe dat door feedback te vragen over je eigen mails, dat triggert ook een gedachtengang bij je collega's), en vind je informatie snel terug (door je e-mail-mappen, je PC-mappen en je fysieke kast te ordenen volgens het zelfde KOTA-systeem: Klanten, Output, Team en Administratie)
Een fijn boekje voor iedereen die meer tijd aan zijn inhoudelijke werk, en minder uren aan e-mail wil besteden.
April 15, 2021
How much email do you send or receive? If it’s not a lot, don’t bother with this book. If it is a lot, then drag yourself through this book and become more efficient at sending and receiving email. I say drag because the entire book is about structuring emails and filing emails. The authors made a valiant attempt to make the book more enjoyable by structuring it as a series of conversations between a man and a hamster. This was cute but ultimately couldn’t make the book good. It was a fun analogy but couldn’t make the purpose of the book entertaining. Let’s be honest. Talking about structuring and filing email is boring. It may help your business. No doubt in my mind this book would. That doesn’t mean it’s interesting or entertaining. I read it to be more efficient with my growing email life at work. I am going to try the principles in this book. It was still a crucible to get through!
September 27, 2025
It's a pretty good book to make you think about how to manage your emails and how much time it takes us going through our emails every day and annually. Most of the advice in it is oftentimes overlooked and is a good reminder for office employees to be cognizant of coworkers' time as well as their own time. However, some of the advice is not as practical as the authors want to convince the reader that it is and I didn't enjoy the patronizing manner in which they were referring to one of the protagonists as a hamster - with, for example, his paws and awkward looks on his face.
January 10, 2018
Week 2 of the 2018 Reading Challenge: A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list.
Popsugar Challenge: A Book with an Animal in the Title
I started my GoodReads To Be Read list in 2008 so this book has been on that list for that long. I think someone gave it to me back then and it's sat on my shelf. You can imagine how out of date some of the book was since it's 10 years old. It talked about using IM - and had to explain what it was.
Popsugar Challenge: A Book with an Animal in the Title
I started my GoodReads To Be Read list in 2008 so this book has been on that list for that long. I think someone gave it to me back then and it's sat on my shelf. You can imagine how out of date some of the book was since it's 10 years old. It talked about using IM - and had to explain what it was.
February 16, 2021
A few useful tools for making email more efficient and organizing your files more thoughtfully. I found the hamster narrative childish and insulting. Baseline email stats lack citation so they’re really asking you to simply take their word for it which doesn’t sound like solid ground for building improvement.
October 24, 2024
DNF - I always hope for new, usable ideas to be more efficient. This wasn't it. "Less is more" says this book or to be more specific "send less, receive less." Of course.
Also, the hamster scenario really wasn't for me. I am an adult. I didn't need such an example.
Also, the hamster scenario really wasn't for me. I am an adult. I didn't need such an example.
August 20, 2017
A quick read, a few useful tools which I've incorporated in my everyday info-glut war. I would recommend this book to anyone struggling with email and organization. High ROI for time and $ invested.
November 17, 2017
Quick read with very good advice on how to manage the glut of email we all seem to have.
May 19, 2019
Pretty good for specific narrow cases. Useful for people in my team.
June 30, 2020
I enjoyed this book. It's a little silly, but it hits a few really key and actionable insights for email, time, and priority management.
Quick read.
Quick read.
September 17, 2020
This book is a must-read for anyone who is starting corporate job. In fact, anyone who is try to improve communication through email.
October 6, 2020
Must read for anyone that struggles to stay on top of email in their job.
January 8, 2021
Really enjoyed the book and found it full of practical tips that I have already adopted in both my work and personal emails. Really liked how it was written.
December 6, 2021
It was okay, but I would recommend Getting Things Done instead.
January 8, 2024
I'm hoping to see about implementing this at my workplace!
September 18, 2012
I can't believe that this book has been out for 5 years and I haven't read it before. I discovered it as a by-product of a training I wanted to take at UNC Greeley. I was unable to attend but my boss was present and shared that this was the primary basis for the presentation. The suggestions in the book seem very practical and I will be working to implement them. I'd recommend this book to anyone who feels their inbox is out of control. In the words of Harold the hamster, "one small step for the Hamster Revolution - one giant step for me"!
September 20, 2012
This could have been a lot shorter without the cutesy stuff, and the book wasn't long to begin with! But Harold the hamster makes it feel a lot longer.
I really liked the email template system provided, and have found it to be easy to translate to what I do. I found the first half of the book to be quite useful to me and it has made me more conscious about what I send.
The folder system described just does not work for me, but that's a personal preference.
I really liked the email template system provided, and have found it to be easy to translate to what I do. I found the first half of the book to be quite useful to me and it has made me more conscious about what I send.
The folder system described just does not work for me, but that's a personal preference.
March 6, 2013
Takes the fable approach to introducing concepts related to more efficient email practices through the story of coaching sessions with a person who has turned into a real life hamster.
Because, you know, someone moved his cheese. And he can't find it in his email inbox.
The concepts are solid, but nothing in here will (for me) displace the topics taught in Take Back Your Life, by Sally McGhee.
Because, you know, someone moved his cheese. And he can't find it in his email inbox.
The concepts are solid, but nothing in here will (for me) displace the topics taught in Take Back Your Life, by Sally McGhee.
December 17, 2013
After finishing the book, I must say that even though I thought the hamster analogy was good, I could have done without the hamster/client being threaded through the entire book. Not sure there was really any new info here. Has made me more confident in picking up the phone instead of sending multiple emails back and forth. Also liked the concept of writing efficient emails. Not sure how to get others to send me efficient emails. I will have to work on that.
August 20, 2008
I actualy listened to the audio book for this one. I learned a little but it wasn't mind-blowing. I think if you've read Getting Things Done, this won't come as much of surprise. The big take away is to be more critical of the e-mails you send out.
September 6, 2009
Not bad -- some good ideas on how to get a handle on E-mail. Need to tailor to your own work environment, especially those who work in Dept of Defense or a non-profit. Didn't like the "hamster" analogy/picture -- seemed kind of trite and sophmoric at times.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews