Did you hesitate to open this newsletter because you couldn't bear the thought of looking at one...more...email...message today...or this week?

How could an innovation like email that seemed so wonderful at the start add so much weariness to our days now? Most of us have developed a love-hate relationship with email - we can't live without it anymore, but sometimes we sure wish we could.

Nora Ephron, in an essay in the New York Times this spring, documented the "6 Stages of Email." We all begin with infatuation ("This is so much better than writing a letter!"), move through a middle period of anger and bewilderment ("How come all these strangers want to offer me lower house payments and larger body parts?"), and finally progress to the last state, email death ("Forget it - just call me!").

There is even a growing phenomenon known as email bankruptcy, a concept developed by internet guru Lawrence Lessig. An individual deletes all the messages in their inbox, and then sends out a message to everyone in their address book declaring "email bankruptcy." Recipients are notified apologetically that any messages they sent in the last few days, weeks, or months will not receive a response, because the emailer is starting fresh.
I'm not sure an email bankruptcy is necessarily any more effective than a financial bankruptcy in solving root problems. Without understanding the cause, it's hard to resolve the issue of an overwhelming inbox over the long term.

This week we've got a few resources to help you manage the endless email stream. Whether the issue is a supervisor who cc's the world, or the need for a coding system for incoming messages, or even just finding a way to get off of Aunt Edith's joke list, there are small steps you can take to reduce the inbox glut. Plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

"Surviving Email Overload" is an article by the authors of a book on managing email. The essay includes some simple strategies you can implement tomorrow to cut down on the messages you send and receive:

http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/email-overload.htm

More tips from Career Journal on managing email - these suggestions focus on habits that can dramatically decrease the time you spend on email:

http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/officelife/20070828-coombes.html

The silver lining of the email glut is that it makes handwritten notes from literacy leaders all the more rare...and valued. The Power of a Note explains why of integrating regular handwritten notes to colleagues into your professional routine is essential for building community:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/437.cfm

Jennifer Allen's DVD Workshop Kit is now available for purchase. Layered Coaching features over 90 minutes of footage from classroom observations, study groups, mentoring debriefs, and new teacher meetings. The package includes a 54-page CD of templates, samples, and ideas for using the package in ongoing professional development programs:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item14.cfm

For Members Only

Sentences, sentences - we've gone from sentence diagramming to sentence combining to crafting sentences over the years. Franki Sibberson looks at different ways to incorporate lessons and close looks at sentences into her literacy workshops. It's all part of her ongoing efforts this fall to revamp her word study program:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/434.cfm

Got Space? is Jennifer Allen's take on the challenge of developing a literacy resource area for colleagues in a school with no extra room. Jen finds a closet door works just fine for a display. She shares what she includes in the mix, as well as the process of organizing it:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/435.cfm

The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) continue their series of bookroom tours. This week, we've posted a new three-minute video tour featuring an easy checkout system for tracking the use of the books:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/433.cfm

From the Mailbox - Member Denise Trainor writes: Reality has set in! We are beginning our adventure as literacy coaches and are stumped as to how to keep track of our work with the teachers. Do you have any suggestions? Any templates?

We have posted a few different templates over the past year to help with keeping track of classroom observations. We've compiled them for you at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/438.cfm

That's all for this week!