![]() LaForme: Yeah! You do you, but keep it to yourself.Įditor’s note: This is the latest in a series of articles that highlight digital tools for journalists. Hare: One thing I like about this is that it lets people who want to work crazy hours do that without making everyone else feel like they should. inbox-purging messages should install this post haste. Other than that, it works as advertised! The folks who are sending those 2 a.m. I’ll admit that I double-checked whether my Boomerang’d emails sent for the first couple months I was using it. There’s something about writing an email and then not sending it that feels totally wrong. LaForme: It takes a few tries to get used to. Hare: Anything you’d add or change about this? LaForme: I have to believe that’s part of their personality. Wait, is this how PR people are so persistent? Hare: I would love this for a way to stay on top of sources who are slow to respond. It could also be helpful in cases where you’re working with embargoed stories. Sources probably don’t want late-night emails, either. LaForme: I’m sure there are about a million different ways we can use it in our reporting. So how do you see journalists using this? Just for in-office stuff? Hare: Sentiment analysis makes me shiver. I could see that being useful in some workplaces. It also lets you set and send recurring messages, like that standard weekly “get your timesheets in” email. It looks at your email and judges how likely it is that someone will respond. The $15 per month plan has some cool things like sentiment analysis and some type of machine learning to help you write responses, but I’ve never tried it. You have to have at least the cheap paid plan if you want to use it on mobile. I’ve never paid for it as I’m not in the habit of writing too many late-night emails, but I think that’s a pretty reasonable price for the types who do. From there, the cheapest plan starts at five bucks a month and includes unlimited emails. It’s free for up to 10 Boomerang’d emails per month. You can bounce in and edit it and, if you want, change the outgoing time.Ī couple of other things: It’s also available for Outlook. LaForme: Totally! Just head over to that folder and click your email. What if I schedule an email to send and then get different information (or perspective, depending on what cup of coffee I’m on?) Can you un-boomerang? If you don’t trust it, there’s a little folder you can check on the left side of your screen that shows outgoing messages. Just accept those and you’re good.įrom there, just write your email like normal and, instead of clicking send when you’re done, you click the little Boomerang button to pick a time to send the email later. Google will load you a popup that shows what, exactly, you’ll be giving Boomerang access to. ![]() You just have to go to the Boomerang site and click the big button to install Boomerang in your Gmail. LaForme: Par for the course, it’s super easy. So a way to not send emails super early (and a way to be considerate of different timelines) is great. But I also use early morning hours before work really kicks in to respond and get through that to-do list. Hare: As an #InboxZero person, I feel compelled to reply regardless of the hour, too. I’ve gotten midnight emails from managers in the past that left me wondering if they expected an immediate response or not. And it also sets that bar for your colleagues - especially if you’re the boss. Whether you want it to or not, it sets expectations that you are ready and available to work at all hours of the day. ![]() Turns out, it’s bad for your own productivity. There are all kinds of studies and recommendations from pros that scold you for sending out late-night emails to your colleagues (and they’ve straight-up banned it in France). LaForme: No, but that one is a personal favorite, too! I’m talking about Boomerang for Gmail. Hare: This isn’t the app that lets you loop Instagram pics, right? LaForme: I was inspired by a colleague at Poynter who sent out some late-night emails, complete with an apology, to revisit an old favorite that more people need to know about. Hare: Hi, Ren! What’s our new tool today? Here’s a tool to help you be effective without being annoying. It’s OK if you work best really late at night or really early in the morning, but your colleagues and sources don’t need to.
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