A World Without Email: Find Focus and Transform the Way You Work Forever (from the NYT bestselling productivity expert)

by Cal Newport

that these autoresponders are now much rarer than they were at their peak, in the immediate aftermath of Ferriss’s book coming out. They were a good idea in the abstract but degraded under the friction of real-world application. The lesson lurking in this case study is that care must be taken in how you publicize changes to your personal work habits. Over the years of observing many different attempts by individuals to push back against or change their dependence on the hyperactive hive mind, and having attempted more than a few such changes myself, I’ve come to believe that these experiments are best executed quietly. Don’t share the details of your new approach to work, unless someone specifically asks you out of genuine interest. Be wary of even providing new expectations, such as “I generally don’t see email until after 10:00 a.m.” or “I check my inbox only a few times a day.” These provide hard edges that skeptical colleagues, clients, or bosses can begin to easily chip away. (“What if I need something urgently from you earlier? No … I don’t like this at all—I think you need to stay better on top of your messages.”) Similarly, if you get in the habit of asking for forgiveness—as is often suggested—people around you will get in the habit of thinking your work strategies must be broken, because why else would they keep causing you to apologize?