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In 2008, a study of productivity and instant messaging (IM) discovered that IM seemed to help in increasing productivity, shocking long-time proponents that chat programs were detrimental to the office.
I joked at the time that this was the reason I needed to keep chatting. The truth is, by 2008, I'd largely quit using most chat programs, except for Gtalk, which I used to talk exclusively to my friend, Dean, who excels at co-working. And when I say "excels at co-working," I mean that he never makes casual conversation, largely stays on topic of whatever we're writing at the time, and leaves long pauses between messages. He's busy, I'm busy: he gets it.
Time went on, and as I used that Gmail account for more interviews and personal things, a lot of people were added to my chat list. It was convenient because having them on my IM list meant that if I needed their help for something we were working on, I could reach them right away.
But then something terrible happened. People started to message me all the time. Now, I dig all of you, and I would love to talk to all of you, but the bottom line is that you're not the only one messaging me and I don't have time to chat with all of you. I can't just switch back and forth between something I'm writing and the chat window. I envy your ability to multitask and the fact some of you have the ability to play at work -- I do. If you have openings to sit around and blog and chat at your company, totally contact me.
As it is, I don't have that luxury. The bottom average for me is six posts a day -- and that doesn't include interviews and research I am doing for future posts. I need the time I'm at my computer to focus on what I'm doing.
And apparently, no one gives a damn if someone's status is set to "busy."
I'm tired of explaining that I'd love to talk but I can't. I shouldn't have to explain to every single person who messages that I can't chat when my status has a paragraph describing that I'm not available and I'd appreciate no messages unless they're work-related.
So last night, I quit Gtalk. And guess what happened? I got everything done that I needed to do. And I loved it.
This is what it means: if you're a good friend and you need me for something, shoot me a text. One text, I don't need more. I'll get back to you when I can. If you don't have my number, direct message me or @reply on Twitter, or send me an e-mail. If you e-mail, keep it simple. I need to be able to get the gist within the first two seconds of opening it. Write your email using the format of the inverted pyramid -- you know how newspapers do it? Who, what, why, where, when, how, in 28 to 32 words. Like that.
As for calling -- I hate speaking on the phone and will avoid it as much as possible unless you're my parents or it's business-related. So don't be hurt if you get shot to voicemail immediately. It's not you, it's me.
I sincerely appreciate it.
AV Flox is the editor of Sex and the 405 -- what your newspaper would look like if it had a sex section.
