Mobile Email

  • Thread starter Thread starter rbhailey
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rbhailey

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I have been on some type of mobile email from blackberry to pull pop3 for a couple of years. I am considering dropping my unlimited data package from Verizon. It seems to me that getting emails while outside of the office will not contribute to my gtd system, since I cannot take action on some or most of them with the phone(action/defer/delegate/file). I use Outlook with the gtd addin and like it very much. Why do I need it unless my job requires immediate responses when I am out?

I would still like to continue to use a phone/pda for tasks/calendar items, but just cannot decide whether to keep using it for email.

I would like to hear arguments for and against mobile email please.

Brad
 
It depends on your style of work. For me, mobile email would be a constant nagging distraction. I generally wouldn't be able to take action on the email away from my desk, so working email only at my desk makes the most sense for me.

Some professionals spend most of their time away from the office, need to respond to email quickly, and may also have downtime to work their email. In that case it might be a very good thing to have mobile email if you can actually work with that small keyboard.

The main thing to consider is your personal working style. Just because you CAN be reachable by email, phone and text message every second of the 24 hour day does not mean that you SHOULD be that connected. The stress may not be worth it.
 
I can do some of the GTD actions with mobile mail

I use some of the wierd free moments to scan my e-mail and delete those that are not needed and file those e-mails that are needed for archive only. I can't do all of the actions with my mobile mail, but it makes my office time more productive not to have to file and delete e-mails.
 
I use most of my Treo 755p's features extensively, but I stopped doing mobile email a couple of years ago. There were too many messages that required resources I didn't have access to while out, or too much research that could be done more efficiently and ergonomically on a larger screen and keyboard. And, of course, it was distracting. I will check email on the Treo on the very rare occasions that I'm specifically waiting for an important message, and I'll also send a 2-minute email if it's really under to minutes. Otherwise, it's much more efficient to process email at a real workstation, IMO. Natually, certain jobs, like network administration, make mobile email appropriate.
 
I have to agree that it really depends on how much time you spend away from your desk. I've been using the outlook plug in for a month and realized this week that it has to go; I just don't spend a high enough proportion of my time sitting in front of one desktop for it to work for me.

I'm moving to using igoogle as a portal to gmail, gcal, and remember the milk (a task manager). That puts everything on the web, which I can access at any of the multiple places I work AND via my phone. (Obviously a blackberry doesn't work that way.) This is going to require a MAJOR change to how I process, but in the long run it fits my lifestyle better.
 
It works for me...

I check my e-mail on my phone all the time. Becuase my phone is my PDA I can enter next actions and calendared items on the spot if I have a few minutes while waiting for an appointment. It works for me, but I understand how it would not be servicable for everyone. I was on a jury all of July and was able to get a great deal of work done (or at least moving forward) just using my phone. It was a life saver to have access to e-mail from my staff (I own a small business) and to be able to catalog next actions on the fly that could be sync'd to my laptop later...

gw
(PS...the phone is an HP Mobile Messenger...6945, I think...I live in Alaska so our choices are slim but it works for me)
 
Garmin to Blackberry

I'm fairly new here. I've been using a Garmin iQue M3 (pda & GPS) which I love. Just recently purchased the Netcentrics Outlook add-in after reading about it on this site. However, my husband just bought me a Blackberry Curve for my birthday so I'm having to change gears somewhat. I really don't need the email functionality as I usually have my laptop with me. Email seems too cumbersome to manage via my smartphone (although it's kind of cool!) But I do use the Outlook 2003 features (calendar, tasks, appts, etc) on a regular basis. I like the Blackberry but I'm really missing the grafitti I had on my Garmin. Would someone please give me some encouragement to hang in there with the Blackberry. The learning curve has been a little frustrating for me (actually I've spent hours reading trying to get a handle on on the features, shortcuts, bells and whistles). I really don't want to carry around two units now that I don't have to. Before my "surprise", my Garmin and Razr (and laptop) went with me everywhere. Any words of wisdom from fellow BB users out there?

Stacey
 
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