Escape Your Email At Last (Really!) With AwayFind
Want to escape your email? These days, who doesn't? Email is one of the easiest technologies to use, which leads to an unfortunate side effect: we get too much of it. The information overload crisis has gotten out of hand and is now at the point where it's interfering with the way business operates. This problem is no longer just an inconvenience, it's a real financial concern. In the U.S. alone, $650 billion per year is the cost of lost productivity, according to IORG. But what can be done?
AwayFind is a clever solution to the email overload problem. It lets you step away from your email without missing the most important messages - the so-called "email emergencies." That addresses one of people's deep-seated fears of email abandonment - the fear that some piece of critical information is going to arrive and we're not going to see it.
Basically, AwayFind is an auto-responder on steroids. You can configure its outgoing message to your liking. That message includes a link which allows people to get your attention if they are, in fact, emailing you about something urgent.
Your message could read, for example:
Messaging me about something I need to know today (like a canceled meeting)? Please click here to get my attention:
But What If It's Important?
Those who really needed to reach you can click the link to be taken to a web page where they can fill out a quick form, the results of which will be sent to you.
The form is not too cumbersome to fill out, but it has just enough fields to cause people to pause and consider whether or not it's really worth their effort. It also includes a CAPTCHA at the bottom to keep the spammers at bay. The form can be configured so that messages are categorized by the sender via a drop-down box (e.g. "Personal," "Business", etc.) and then those messages can be auto-routed to the appropriate person(s). In other words, AwayFind can automatically delegate your email for others to deal with.
When someone fills out the form, you're alerted based on the settings you chose during AwayFind's setup and configuration. You can receive a text message (SMS) or you can specify to be alerted at a different email account - that secret address you created for emergencies only. You can also check AwayFind's online inbox via the web.
With AwayFind, you can finally enjoy that vacation, to be sure, but you can also set up day-to-day templates to manage the everyday onslaught.
Pricing Info
The AwayFind service comes in two pricing tiers - a free version and a Professional version. The upgraded plan is $4.95/mo or $34.95/year and comes with a few extra features like a branding option which incorporates your logo, SSL security, integration with your web site, international SMS support, and more. It works with Gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail/Windows Live Mail, Outlook, and others.
Now that you have all that extra time on your hands, you should probably read AwayFind's guide to not checking email (provided for free upon registration), as it will help you stick with your new plan. Remember, breaking email addiction is something we have to fight one day at a time.
Comments
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I'm sorry, but if I had a contract with some agency and I send a mail in an emergency and received a response like this, the agency would no longer be a supplier...
Thank you, Sarah and RWW, for this write up!
haha, good point. I'd say about half the people who use AwayFind opt not to use auto responders, but instead place it in their email signatures. There's a whole wizard in the product for doing that. So, using an auto responder is far from a requirement.
In the video on the homepage you can see the example of an email signature. Hope that helps to clear up any confusion.
Jared Goralnick
Founder / AwayFind
Admittedly my boss is not the most organized guy when it comes to emails, but with over 3,000 unread emails in his inbox and hundreds more arriving every day I think I am going to reccommend he check out this service. Thanks Sarah.
Im a huge believer in Jared and what he is doing with AwayFind. I got an early look almost 6-8 months ago, and the product has progress significantly since then.
For folks that prescribe to the fundamentals of the 4 hour work week and/or GTD, this is an invaluable tool.
Now, that I realize I was sounding too much like an ad, let me say that most people find managing email difficult. This is a great tool to help in that war.
"$650 billion per year is the cost of lost productivity" form unfocused emails
That is huge!
Come on, do we really need software to do this? I've always felt that e-mail overload is simply the result of poor working practices.
My rules are:
(1) Get an e-mail account with a good spam filter
(2) Unsubscribe from mailing lists that you don't have time to keep up with
(3) Don't get involved in e-mail discussions you don't have time to have.
(4) Don't ask for feedback you don't have time to read
i.e. know your limits. If you can't get your inbox down to 0 unread messages by the end of each day (or the end of the following day if you've been travelling) ask yourself why.
OK, I don't get 3000 e-mails a day like some people claim to. But rather than trying to find ways of handling 3000 e-mails a day, ask yourself how you can reduce that number to something manageable.
As for e-mail as a distraction - that's simply a case of being disciplined. Don't keep checking it throughout the day if you're busy doing something else. Do it in bulk once or twice a day. If something is desperately urgent, they'll phone you.
Yes I have to say yes and no for what I have the pain to check the mail regularly this can avoid that but Its my pleasure to check mails ,no problem for me in this regard.
Richard,
It's awesome that you've got your email checking and management habits down! Many of us, including myself, struggle with it from time to time. Best practices may be best practices, but as David Allen talks about a lot, it's "advanced common sense" that we often have to learn.
If you tried out AwayFind, Richard, you'd see that the last page of the setup is all about education. I believe in AwayFind itself, but I know full well that technology is only part of the solution. You may have arrived at the right path, but for most of us we have to keep learning, either because this stuff doesn't come naturally or because of the sheer volume of messages.
Again, I'm glad for your success, but most people could gain from a little bit of help here and there. Myself included. Cheers!
Jared Goralnick / AwayFind
I love the John Galt contact working at Taggart Motors ...
Thank you, Sarah and RWW, for this write up
Lets Go! it's got be GO!