Customer Reviews

The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The aim of this book is to reduce email volume, improve email quality, encourage sending email that is more actionable and organize folders using COTA (Clients, Output, Teams, Admin) approach. Although, some ideas of the book are arguable, the book makes you think once again about your way of emailing. Some readers may find COTA useful, but for me it is too complicated and counterproductive. You can do more in less time with a simpler scheme. I prefer the method advocated by David Allen in his book "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity": where the messages are divided by four categories: "next actions", "projects", "waiting for" and "someday/maybe".

I also disagree with the authors' advice to use instant messaging (IM) in addition to email. The authors did not get the major point of e-mail: you write your emails in the most convenient time for you, and the recipient reads them in the most convenient time for her. What the authors do not understand is that you cannot disturb somebody by sending an email in an inappropriate time. For example, the authors wrote that an email may be "...unnecessary interruption in a workday already filled with interruptions. .... You are working on an important project that requires a lot of concentration.... your masterpiece... and ding, an email comes in". The authors do not understand that is not the arrival that made you interrupt, but the counterproductive configuration of the email software that notifies you about the incoming messages. If you will disable the notifications, an incoming email will never break off your concentration again. You will read all the incoming messages in a proper time. The authors also forget about spam - a potential source for interruptions. IM is also the big source of interruptions, and not as efficient as the telephone.

"Turn off your email alarm" is advised by Julie Morgenstern, author of "Never Check E-Mail In the Morning", and by Gleb Arkhangelsky, author of "Time Drive". I highly recommend the two books above mentioned, as well as "Getting Things Done" by David Allen.

This book contains about three genuinely powerful, transformative ideas concerning the effective management of information as pertains to the dynamics of email.

If the authors applied those ideas to the book they wrote about them, the actionable parts of the ideas would be expressed in a well structured bullet pointed page, perhaps with a chart, and perhaps followed by two or three pages of elaboration of the details, and perhaps three more pages of their conceptual basis.

That makes about 21 pages.

The remaining 110 some odd pages are chock full of every motivational speaker/business coach/corporate trainer's cliche', buzzword and artifice known to man, which can be irksome to the experienced reader of books of this type.

All in all, the book is worthy, but if, like me, you're the type for whom the painted smiles and unnnaturally sustained exuberance of the corporate trainer rings false, be fully prepared to power skim about 100 pages to pick out the substance.

This book is a great read. The authors have clearly taken their own advice in writing the Hamster Revolution. They have packed their story full of great practical tips and advice and presented it in an entertaining, engaging and very efficient narrative.

Take this book with you on your next commute or plane trip - it will be the most productive ride you have had in a long time.

Taking cue from The One Minute Manager, Zapp!, Fish! and Who Moved My Cheese?, The Hamster Revolution uses a parable to show how to better manage and organize e-mail and information. The hamster represents people endlessly running on the wheel of e-mail. Right away, I start using concepts from the 90-minute book. Considering I'm an organized person, that says something.

In the story, Harold the Hamster receives a visit from an information coach to help him with e-mail and information management. Harold is a person who turned into a hamster because e-mail and information trapped him on a figurative hamster wheel.

Harold and his coach think aloud as they explore his e-mail habits and inbox to find the problem areas. The banter between the two gives the reader insight into why something doesn't work and how to fix it. Their comments mirror what many of us think when we're drowning in messages. Though cheesy at times, the story quickly explains the how, what, and why without confusing readers with dry writing.

I was eager to discover the secret of COTA, the concept for creating folders named Clients, Output, Teams and Administration. COTA also represents the order of priority. The Clients folder receives top honors on the hierarchy than Output. Administration gets thrown to the bottom of the pile where it belongs. But this concept isn't as foolproof as the authors make it sound.

They state that you won't run into a situation when an email or document belongs in two folders. However, if that should happen -- then the document belongs in the one higher up on the COTA ladder. Furthermore, the system serves departments and teams best.

COTA won't work well for personal use (the authors apparently have another system for this, but information isn't available yet) or a small business like mine where I'm a freelancer working on a computer that houses both business and personal information.

Furthermore, not everyone will know what some things mean such as EOM (end of message) or NRN (no reply needed). These require teaching others and a team setting would adapt to that better than a lone person who must explain it in many individuals. EOM and NRN should become as standard as smilies, but they're far from there.

Some advice might sound common sense or old news to some people, but the authors share lesser known or new concepts. The book has had positive impact on my e-mail habits, and for what it is worth, that opinion comes from a long-time e-mail user (the days of BBSes -- pre-Internet).

The Hamster Revolution has provided me with a systematic way of getting control over one of my largest headaches, email. As an executive in a small business, I wear many hats and get emails from every group in the company ranging from Accounting to Sales. I am looking forward to purchasing a copy for every employee in hopes to tame them. It is about time someone has approached this subject in a simplistic yet effective manner. Now that I have found a way to get off the wheel, it is time to start figuring a way to get out of the cage.

Action: A must read and immediate implement

The Hamster Revolution is a provocative and helpful book that takes on one of the great challenges of work and personal life: email.
I have been trying to implement what I learned myself and also hope my organization will start this revolution among our workers.
Considering how email dominates our lives these days, this is one self-help book that is really helpful!

Wow. I didn't even know I was a hamster.

The tips in this book are wonderful and I've had three of the people above me in the office heirarchy tell me how much they like my new email format. Not only are my emails getting attention, they're also getting better responses!

If you're in the email quagmire, this is the book you must read!

The book is a quick read that leaves you with a couple of actionable concepts that appear to have time-saving potential. The small section on different methods of categorization was worth the purchase price alone. The email tips are definitely worthwhile and the filing system advice falls right in line. Well done!

This is an easy read with practical tips for managers, employess and self-employed. As the owner of a business it is harder to find books with tips that apply to the non-corporate or structured setting. This book gave very useful and practical tips that can be implemented in a variety of settings.

I discovered I was guilty of "mishandling" emails and found the tips useful to break these bad habits. By doing so, email became a time-saving tool instead of the never ending battle to get ahead of them. Simply organization using the CODA system may not work for everyone, but it did give me ideas for organizing my email.

Read it with an open mind and you will find yourself chuckling at the image of the hamster boss. I found myself rolling my eyes in agreement with the challenges email brings each day.

This book is quick to read and the tips will definately save you time in dealing with your email.The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You (Bk Business)

It is a quick read with some very good ideas for communicating clearly and effectively via email and how to minimize the amount of email that you send and receive. Excellent for groups and teams.