E-mail Insanity

The age of technology has thrust us full-force into instant communication, and it appears that e-mail has simplified so many lives. Has it…really?

It is valid that e-mail can make life simple. When you pick up the phone to call a client or friend, they may not be there or you may get a busy signal. If they’re not available, then your day is interrupted again when they return your call. An e-mail solves the problem.

But for many of us, we live in e-mail insanity mode. Instead of using e-mail as a quick mode of communication, we are obsessed with it! We hear the little “ding” telling us that we have a new message, and we stop what we are doing immediately to see what it’s about.

Some of us get so many e-mails that we can’t and don’t respond to them, thinking ‘I will get back to this at some point.’ So we leave unanswered e-mails sitting in our in-boxes for days, weeks, or sadly, longer.

The rest of us just don’t know what to do with all the emails we get.

One noted psychologist said, “If you keep your in-box full rather than empty, it may mean you keep your life cluttered in other ways.”

And yet, if you clean out your in-box every few minutes, you may be missing out on important opportunities. Stopping to check messages with every “ding” means you stop whatever project you may be working on. This is counter-productive, which can create feelings of stress. Creating stress for you through this life of e-mail insanity can lead to serious health issues.

There is a way out of the insanity! Recognize that you’re creating a scenario for your business or personal life that can make you unbalanced. Focus is the first step in getting out of the insanity mode. More specifically, try some of these ideas:

• · Set up systems to clear e-mail clutter.
• · Establish a tickler filing system – either through electronic means or a paper system – and follow-up on a specific day rather than leaving it to clutter your in-box until you respond.
• · Create Action files such as “waiting on response,” “to pay,” “need to respond,” etc. instead of leaving the messages in your in-box until you can get to them.
• · Check e-mail at only certain times of the day.
• · Work on important projects for your business before you handle e-mail so that you don’t waste valuable working time on menial tasks.
• · Get a spam filter and empty it only once a day.
• · Turn down the volume on your computer so the “ding” won’t tempt you to check your e-mail.

• Try different systems to see what works best for you. As with many things, there is no cure-all for e-mail insanity, but we can find a balance if we’re willing to put effort into it!

Until next time,

Nicole