Confession time. 

I’ll admit, when I first abandoned my inbox, I worried a bit about how this might go. But six weeks in, I can honestly say that that urge to check my inbox is all but gone. Sure, email might be nice for one-off messages or calendar invites, but I love that I’m not wasting hours sorting through endless reply-to-all emails or “organizing” an inbox (if that’s actually possible). And not having to deal with Outlook! Hallelujah!

The biggest surprise? My communication style has become far more open than in previous jobs (and I used to worked in sales - I was emailing, calling, instant messaging all day long). Using Chatter has taught me to be thoughtful about what I post in the public space and where. There’s definitely a strategy to it.* I’ve been blown away by how often I’ll post about something I’m working on, and someone I’ve never even met will add a great comment that totally changes my approach. Not to mention how cool it is that in just six weeks I’ve already gained tons of visibility for my work - and I’m an intern.

So the nitty-gritty: how do I use it? I log into Chatter first thing every morning - it’s basically my new and improved inbox. I typically run Chatter Desktop and Chatter in my browser simultaneously, side by side with my calendar. I love Desktop’s notifications and for shooting off quick messages, but when I want to search for something, I personally prefer Chatter in the browser. Obviously, the Mobile app is key for getting updates between meetings or after hours.

And really, the best part of this whole experiment (and my digital soapbox) is that people here at salesforce.com are really curious about what I’m learning from it. The Chatter product managers pick my brain for insights constantly, and when the PM for Chatter Desktop found out that I’m a big fan of his app, he let me pilot the next release.  By the way, it’s awesome, and let’s just say that I won’t be missing any more messages...

Check me out on Twitter and Facebook for updates on my experience. For more about Chatter, go to www.salesforce.com/chatter.

Read my first blog post about the email-free life here.

* On Chatter,  I try to respect the public space and not clog it with messages intended for only one recipient. For example, when I need to schedule lunch with a colleague, I just do it over Messenger or in a direct message. But if, for example, I want to know who the best resource for sales tools is, that goes straight to a sales group.