Posted on: Monday, March 5, 2007
How to end an e-mail addiction
By Dawn Sagario
My name is Dawn, and I'm addicted to my e-mail.
Talking with Marsha Egan, chief executive of Egan Email Solutions in Reading, Pa., confirmed what I had feared regarding the obsessive checking of my three separate e-mail inboxes.
Oh, how do I resist the enticing e-mail pop-up alert? How can I ignore that inviting "ding!" that happily lets me know I've just received a message?
I don't. I give in.
I doubt I'm the only one who is compelled to incessantly check work e-mail — or the BlackBerry or Sidekick — in case you may miss some earth-shattering news.
Egan calls it an "e-ddiction," and one side effect is people "e-noodling" up and down their inbox, trying to plow through hundreds — or thousands, in my case — of messages.
Egan said workers are less productive and companies lose money. Her answer? A "12-step E-mail E-ddiction Detox" program to help you kick the habit:
Admit that you have an issue managing your e-mail.
Turn off automatic send and receive. "You don't want to look up every single time an e-mail comes in," she said.
Commit to leaving your inbox empty every time you go into it. "It's not a holding tank," she said. Start from the first e-mail and systematically work your way down.
Create folders where you can file inbox material. Her example: a folder for urgent items that need to be acted on; one for "pending," that includes e-mails that you're awaiting a response on; and reading, for reference material.
Title folders with broad subjects. You'll spend less time looking for material.
Use the two-minute rule. Deal immediately with e-mails that take two minutes or less. If it takes longer, file it into a folder.
Establish a schedule to check e-mail. Egan checks her messages four or five times daily.
Cut the amount of e-mail received. If the problem can be solved with a phone call, then do it.
Pick a date to clear the inbox in hourlong increments.
Use one subject for each e-mail. When sending someone an e-mail addressing more than one topic, not all of the questions or concerns may be addressed, Egan contends.
"Seventy percent of the people in the world ... read by skimming," she said.
Having one topic helps ensure that questions are answered the first time. Using a detailed subject line also helps make e-mails more efficient.
Celebrate incremental e-mail improvements.
Wish me luck. I'll need the help to empty 1,237 messages from my inbox.
