We need to stop calling each other

How many times have you stared at your phone, waiting for it to stop ringing so you can go back to scrolling social media?

Or immediately after the call finally stopped, searched the number in your favorite lookup app (we all have one, right)?

Or maybe even answered a completely non-urgent call from that colleague who insists on calling one, two, three times in a row?

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

In fact, 81% of respondents in a study said they don’t answer the phone if they don’t have or recognize the number.

So how do we fix this?

Simple: we need to stop calling each other.

Alright, maybe not entirely — but here’s what we can do about this endless stream of distracting, unnecessary calls.

Start chatting instead of calling

Being constantly available might sound like a good idea. Your colleagues know you’re only one call away, and your suppliers know you’ll always pick up.

But in reality, being always reachable kills productivity.

Every unnecessary call takes time, breaks your focus, and often turns non-urgent issues into “emergencies.”

When calls take priority over chat or other asynchronous communication, the truly important work gets delayed.

I know this myself — I handle chats throughout the day in a structured way to stay productive.

Calls, on the other hand, often come from people who think everything is urgent. And those people don’t always see things from your perspective — or your priority list.

If you’ve read Bullen’s pieces on asynchronous vs synchronous communication, this isn’t news to you. If not, I highly recommend learning to distinguish between the two — it’ll transform your internal communication.

So, to sum it up: a ringing phone often gets in the way and reduces productivity.

Instead, choose to send a chat message — calling someone should always be the last resort.

When you chat, you give your colleague or partner the chance to stay focused and respond when it suits them.

What chat tools can businesses use?

If you’ve made it this far, you already understand the value of written over verbal communication.

Maybe you’ve even started thinking about how your company handles it — and what could improve.

If you don’t already have a business chat platform, here’s the truth: it’s a jungle out there.

To make it easier, we’ve already reviewed a few popular ones:

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Zoom
• WhatsApp

Here’s how chat works in lynes

Since you’re already on our blog — and we have chat built right into our app — it would be wrong not to tell you a bit more about it.

lynes isn’t just a collaboration tool or a phone system — it’s both.

Here’s a snapshot of what our built-in chat can do:

💬 Chat messages (of course)

Our chat includes everything you’d expect — direct messages, group chats, channels, and teams.

You can send quick messages, tag colleagues or channels to make sure information reaches the right people.

So whether you’re messaging one colleague or an entire department, you can do it in lynes.

📎 Share things easily

The goal of business chat is to reduce (or eliminate) long email threads.

With lynes, it’s “a walk in the park.”

You can drag and drop files directly into the chat — sharing the latest reports or presentations instantly.

But it doesn’t stop there.

You can also share calls, other chat messages, and even emails!

Say you receive an email from a supplier about delivery delays — you can share it straight into a channel to keep everyone informed.

And here’s a favorite: you can share call logs too.

If you try to forward a call to a colleague who’s busy, just send the details with one click and move on — productively 😉

😀 Emoji reactions and GIFs

Some messages deserve nothing more than a thumbs up.

That’s why we’ve added emoji reactions for quick, lightweight responses.

But personally, I think funny replies are just as important as fast ones.

That’s why I love GIFs — they make chatting more human (and fun).

⚙️ Boost your chat with smart integrations

Take your communication to the next level by integrating your favorite tools with lynes.

You can, for example, get notifications from Trello boards or updates from HubSpot directly in chat.

Automate workflows, save time, and — you guessed it — boost productivity.

💼 Chat with external partners

Earlier, I mentioned minimizing email — and we mean it.

That’s why our customers can create unlimited free guest accounts to collaborate with external partners.

Set up a shared channel with a supplier or a customer and work together directly in lynes.

And if your partner already uses lynes, you don’t even need to create a guest — just invite them into your workspace.

And here’s the best part: lynes also integrates with Slack.

That means you can set up a synced channel between your company and a partner who uses Slack as their chat tool.

Smart? Smart.

And about those phone calls…

With lynes, we hope you’ll get fewer of the calls you don’t want to answer — at least the unnecessary ones from colleagues.

But here’s the kicker: we’ve integrated Merinfo.se into lynes, so every incoming call automatically checks who’s calling and shows you the name right away.

Eureka!

Now you can see who’s calling — and still choose not to answer.

‍