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

~ (Author), Vicki Halsey (Author), Tim Burress (Author), Ken Blanchard (Foreword) "I was working peacefully in my office when the door slowly opened and shut with a click..." (more)
Key Phrases: email quality, email efficiency, email volume, Hamster Revolution, Action Summary, Power Draft (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fun read and smart solution to the serious problem of email overload." -- --Marcus Buckingham, author, Now Discover Your Strengths

Product Description

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--a leading expert on email efficiency and etiquette with a simple system that helps Harold eliminate needless emails, write better messages, and file and find info in a flash. He gets immediate results--and reclaims his life. The Hamster Revolution is chock-full of practical advice that really works. Included is a landmark case study that shows how 2,000 Capital One associates cut their email time by 23 percent while improving overall email quality by 52 percent.

Professionals waste up to a month per year on email--costing their companies billions in missed opportunities. The good news? Hope and help are here. The Hamster Revolution is the definitive book for our times.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; illustrated edition edition (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576754375
• ISBN-13: 978-1576754375
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #370,705 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Arguable but Worth Attention, January 31, 2008

By	Maxim Masiutin (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Packed with Practical Advice, January 23, 2007

By	Jack Forestell (Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and fun, January 16, 2007

By	L.A. Reader (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This book gives practical, insightful solutions to the problem of e-mail
overload, but does it in a fun, entertaining way. It's only after I
finished it that I realized how much useful information is packed into the
story. I liked this much better than Who Moved My Cheese and other business
motivational books.