Many people dread the idea of disconnecting from email while taking time off, for fear of missing critical information or emergencies that need their attention back at the office.

I met Jared Goralnick, an efficiency and productivity consultant, at the inaugural IORG conference last summer in NY, and he told me about a solution he had been working on, called AwayFind.

AwayFind launched yesterday and is a smart alternative to static out-of-office responders.  The web-based solution will work with any email platform.  You simply embed a link to your personalized AwayFind webpage into your email signature or out-of-office message.  Anybody who needs immediate attention can follow the link to fill out a contact form, which then is routed to you via SMS or private email.

The pro-version even allows you to configure categories, to automatically delegate requests to co-workers.

There is no single solution to fight email overload, but AwayFind might become another weapon in your arsenal.

Technorati Tags: , ,