Podcast Episode

How to Conquer Nonstop Notifications at Work | Christine vs Work

Who’s talking

11 speakers
Christine8 min · 44%
Daniel Sieberg4 min · 25%
Speaker 760 sec · 6%
Speaker 156 sec · 6%
Speaker 250 sec · 5%
Olivia30 sec · 3%
5 others2 min · 11%

Transcript

51 turns · 18 min
Speaker 10:00

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at accenture.com/spotify.

Speaker 20:31

This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini in Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini in Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses. Set up required. Compatibility and availability varies. 18 plus.

C
Christine0:56

Hey, friends. Today's topic is super personal. I... Oh. Sorry about that. Anyway, so this episode is... So you wa-... Leave me alone. Notifications at work have gotten so out of control. Like, after a while, it is extremely overwhelming. I'm talking email. I'm talking Slack, DMs. Whichever way, you are pingable. So message overload is nothing new, but it's only gotten worse with the rise of virtual work that relies on this type of communication. So for me, you either respond to everything and feel destroyed at the end of the day, or you reply to some, but feel super guilty about the rest. Shame. So I found some things that have helped me, which I'll share in this video, but I still have questions. How do you avoid getting burned out by work messages? What are things I can do to set boundaries? And ultimately, how do I create a healthier relationship with my inbox? If you're looking for tips on how to manage messages at work without feeling bedraggled every day, we're gonna go through some practical techniques you can do to set healthy expectations and boundaries.

DS
Daniel Sieberg2:21

We get notifications and pings and, um, you know, something is unread. It starts to drive us crazy.

Speaker 52:28

Centerfield turkey.

DS
Daniel Sieberg2:29

This, the notion of FOMO and, you know, just everything that was happening, I think I was maybe experiencing it before many people and felt the need to, to write about it and, and I suppose to serve as a bit of a cautionary tale.

C
Christine2:42

That's Daniel Sieberg. He's the Director of Innovation Marketing at Moody's Corporation, co-founder of Good Trust, and has deep roots in tech and science journalism. He's also the author of The Digital Diet, which was published in 2011, but even back then dealt with tech addiction and message overload.

DS
Daniel Sieberg2:59

At the time, Christine, I think it was driven by a, uh, almost an intervention that was happening around me. People were concerned about the way that I was, I would say, mismanaging my relationship with technology. And so I started by writing a blog. It's definitely a self-help, uh, experience.

C
Christine3:22

Say you get a message from work. The urge kicks in to respond immediately. Like, the clock is ticking. You don't wanna leave them hanging. But how much of that urgency is just in your head? Daniel recommends

Episode notes

Beep! Bzzzt. That incessant knockbrush! Work message notifications run nonstop all day, every day, and there doesn’t seem to be signs of stopping. It’s exhausting.

In today’s global, remote, WiFi-powered workspaces, the majority of async communication is conducted through email, direct message, or system notifications. Responding to this bottomless stream of requests can be time-consuming, not to mention stressful and mentally taxing. I needed some advice. How do I avoid getting burned out by work messages? What are some things I can do to set boundaries? And how do I create a healthier relationship with my inbox?

I sought answers from Daniel Sieberg—Director of Innovation Marketing at Moody's Corporation, Co-Founder of Good Trust, and author of The Digital Diet. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by work notifications, Daniel suggests setting communication boundaries with your team clearly and early, reframing the immediate urge to respond, and digging into your notification features and settings to better manage incoming pings. I also include some of my favorite tips and techniques for tackling work messages—let me know what’s worked for you!

This video was originally published on HBR's Ascend YouTube Channel in September 2022.

00:00 Has this ever happened to you?
01:24 Meet Daniel Sieberg
02:25 Rethink urgency
03:17 Pause those pings
04:05 Set realistic boundaries

Showing a preview — retrieve the full transcript via the Exa API.

Powered by the Exa API