Well, thanks everyone who sent me feedback. I've received roughly
fifty messages, and it is clear that our volume *is* a problem
for quite a few of you.
a) You need to be able to be selective. This is the key to
survival here and everywhere on the internet. I know you're
worried about deleting messages that just might have a
nugget of gold, so you're struggling to keep up, frustrated that
you're skimming too lightly. I know, I've been there, I tend to
keep everything! But, this mental model will eventually cause
you to drown and probably give up the list. There's a personal
mastery point here -- be aware of what you want and use your
software to help you get it.
I recommend you consider the mental model suggested by one
reader: "I began to see these like the conversations that occur
in the next room, or in another building... There are lots of
conversations that I won't hear. Now, I just let them go."
b) If you're getting individual msgs, I recommend you select
msgs based on author and subject line and delete the others
without even viewing the msg. Or, open the msg, but know how to
pop to the next message (most software can do so in one click).
In our circle here, selectivity is the norm and there is *no
expectation that everyone will read every msg.
If you're getting the digest, learn how to make your software
skip to the start of the next message. If you're reading on
paper... Well, you probably know how to skim in that medium.
My software distinguishes msgs addressed directly to me vs. msgs
that reach me via a list. This allows me to be selective on list
msgs but still read all msgs addressed directly to me. See if you
can make you software do the same.
c) You *CAN* easily go back to something you may have thrown
out! Use the Learning-org web pages at
http://world.std.com/~lo/
where msgs are linked and indexed by author, date, subject, and
thread. Also, our msgs are indexed by keyword (including author's
name and LO###) in Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) to help you find
something. Perhaps we could have some volunteers who would help
those without web access to retrieve old msgs.
d) If you want to keep a lot of our messages, create folders
to keep things organized. One reader has folders by topic.
e) Authors can do a lot to help readers with these points. When
quoting part of the previous msg, keep your quotation very
short, just a paragraph or so (otherwise it creates a lot of
bulk for the Digest readers).
f) Readers, if you like the content you are getting from
Learning-org, a little investment to get the most from your
software will payoff.
-- Rick
--Richard Karash ("Rick") | <http://world.std.com/~rkarash> Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer | email: rkarash@karash.com "Towards learning organizations" | Host for Learning-Org Mailing List (617)227-0106, fax (617)523-3839 | <http://world.std.com/~lo>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>