Apple’s Actually Great Answer to Too Much Email

Steve Jobs started all the digital living we are enjoying and that sometimes also makes us miserable.

But Jobs, the inventor of iPhone, iPad and instant mobile communication, had one rule that he strictly enforced in his family.

Steve Jobs limited the amount of screen time his children could have.  Yes, the leader of the digital movement enforced balance.

Then the other day an Apple employee at the Cherry Hill, NJ store told me that store employees were not allowed to conduct business email after closing time.

You’ve heard me mention that France passed a law forbidding companies from requiring employees to do business emails after they leave work.

Almost everyone except those so lost in cyberspace that they can’t see they are ruining their lives are coming to realize that they must find a way to limit connectivity, email, texting and particularly social media to be able to enjoy their lives.

A 20-something Millennial in New York told me just a week ago that she is working very hard to come back to now and not just live on the digital devices.

Millennials are getting it, but believe it or not, many older adults and even parents are willing to let things get out of hand.

Here’s the most effective order of communication among people:

  1. Face to face, in person, 100% present and not talking about yourself.
  2.  A phone call, Skype or FaceTime with the same conditions above.
  3. An email or text to schedule the above not conduct a relationship.
  4. Social media use limited to staying in touch not a level of obsession that requires constant checking.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Order my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.