Measuring Your E-Beast
best-selling self-improvement booksElectronic tools are incredible. They can enhance communications, build relationships, and increase time effectiveness.

Electronic tools can also replace true communication with information overload, damage relationships, and overwhelm our day. Yes, electronic tools are vital and valuable, but they can also become vampires sucking our vital time and energy. Is it time you put them down or put on the screen saver and saved yourself? Take this quick quiz from Growing @ the Speed of Change to find out.
How true are the following statements:



1-Not True   3-Somewhat True   5-Very True

  1. I am notified whenever a new electronic message is sent to me.
  2. Electronic messages are consuming more and more of my day and reducing personal communication.
  3. I use my electronic in-box(es) as a holding area or To-Do list and feel overwhelmed by all the messages there.
  4. An endless stream of electronic messages interrupts my work all day long and leaves me with little thinking/planning time.
  5. I often check my electronic messages while talking with someone or in a meeting.
  6. I spend too much time checking and answering electronic messages in off hours and my spouse/family finds this frustrating and intrusive.
  7. I am caught in electronic discussions that circle back and forth instead of picking up the phone, calling a meeting, or going to someone’s office.
  8. I have not developed electronic protocols/ground rules or similar agreements with my team, peers, and boss.
  9. Many electronic messages I get have irrelevant subject lines, unclear expectations or reasons for me getting them, long conversation strings to decipher, or are copied to inappropriate people.
  10. I generally jump right into my daily electronic messages without prioritizing and putting strict limits on the time I’ve allocated to dealing with them.
  11. Sometimes I’ll send an electronic message rather than have a difficult conversation with individuals or groups.
  12. I haven’t managed expectations on how quickly internal people can expect an electronic response from me.
Scoring:

SCORE OF 45 points or higher:
Godzilla the E-Beast is on a destructive path through your life. You’ve disempowered yourself and you’re wallowing below the line in the high-stress swamp of information overload. You need to make major changes to get above the line.

SCORE OF 30–44 points:
The E-Beast you’ve been feeding is holding you on or below the line and blocking you from taking control of your life. Strengthen your Emotional Intelligence to better balance using information technology and verbal communications.

SCORE OF 16–29 points:
Your E-Beast is small and weak. Keep leading and using verbal communications to keep it in check.

SCORE OF 15 points or lower:
Congratulations! Your E-Beast is tame, trained, and helping you stay above the line. Continue climbing those leadership stairs and help others learn to leverage technology as effectively as you do.

Click here for more information on Growing @ the Speed of Change: Your Inspir-actional How-To Guide For Leading Yourself and Others through Constant Change. The book is a “browser’s digest” of tips and techniques on personal growth, work/life balance, mastering technology, and thriving in turbulent times. 
 
For ideas on taming your E-mail Beast go to http://www.jimclemmer.com/newsletter/?s=e-mail+beast.
 
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