I have serious respect for this auto-reply:
From: Cory Doctorow
Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 11:09 AM
To: Andy Sernovitz
Subject: ——————————————Hi there! I’m on an email-free family holiday until January 11, 2010.
Rather than start the year with a mountain (and it *would* be a MOUNTAIN!) of email, I’m just not accepting any new email while I’m away. Please email me after January 11 if you’d still like to get in touch with me.
If this is urgent, here’s some people you can get in touch with: …
Control your email – don’t let it control you!
wow, that does take guts, but his message is clear so he’d have a clear conscience – way to go!
I have done something similar to that from time to time. I also find it quite helpful to give a different email address to news services, email lists, etc. Helps to keep things separate and apply rules more easily.