Each day I set aside time to check and answer emails, I follow this by opening my snail mail and answering any of that which requires a reply.
Why do people phone me to ask if I had their email?
If I have not yet got round to my post for the day then I haven't seen it and if I have attended to my post before they sent the email I'll not read it until tomorrow.
Once it has been read and considered I will reply and no amount of calling me will change that ..... if it was that urgent why not phone in the first place?
My postman delivers between 12.30 and 13.00 each day. That is when I will deal with all mail, be it paper or electronic.
B@st@rds!
When gainfully employed I used to hate "meetings" as they were, without exception, unproductive. As a salesman I earned money by selling my employer's services not by sitting in a meeting with ten other salesmen so any time not spent either in front of a client or seeking out new clients was a waste of my time. I learned then the value of rationing my time. Post would be dealt with at a specified time, taking due account of the secretarial availability and the time at which the Royal Mail collected from the reception. I can see no reason why email cannot be dealt with in the same manner.
Just how much time is wasted stopping whatever you are doing to answer fatuous email enquiries that could just as easily be dealt with during either the first or the last hour of the working day?