A method and system is disclosed for a device to quickly determine if data is being sent to it. If no data is being sent to the device, the device may return to a sleep mode so as to conserve energy. The present invention includes organizing and transmitting, one at a time, all device destination identifiers. If a message listing search indicates that no message is being sent for a device, the device can continue with any other activity that needs servicing, or if no other activity is pending, it may shut down to conserve power until the next wake up period arrives. If the search returns a positive indication, the count value when the identifier is found can be used to determine the location of the pointer to the message.