May 25, 2005
Opinion: You Just Might Be Addicted To E-Mail
If the folks who popularized e-mail now think you might be addicted to it, you're probably addicted to it.
According to a
new AOL survey, a growing number of people find that keeping up with e-mail is a battle they can't seem to win. If you find yourself checking your in-box every few minutes or can't resist rushing to it the minute you hear the chime indicating a new message has arrived, don't worry, you are not alone. Sure it's a great timesaver, but too much of a good thing can interfere with your ability to do your job properly, it can take time away from your family, cause unnecessary stress and even "digital guilt."
How Do We Know When We're Over-Doing E-Mail?
Obviously, if your job requires that you use e-mail, then you're a whole lot more likely to find yourself tied to a computer during odd hours and in odd places. According to a soon to be released AOL survey on e-mail, 41% of e-mail users check their e-mail from home first thing in the morning -- this is before they head to work. And 14% check e-mail right when they get home from work, and right before bed. So, you can see how it rules some people's lives. 40% say they've actually checked e-mail in the middle of the night. If that happens more than a couple of times, you either need a new mattress or you're developing a bit of an e-mail addiction that will undoubtedly become counterproductive.
What About Men vs. Women?
There does appear to be a little bit of Mars vs. Venus with e-mail. We mentioned checking e-mail in the middle of the night -- Men are more likely than women to have done this (45% vs. 35%). Women, on the other hand, are more likely than men to regularly check personal e-mail while at work (50% vs. 44%). They'll check it and off throughout the workday, while men are more likely to tend to personal e-mail first thing in the morning.
E-Mail Addicts Are Checking Their Mail In Surprising Places
About 1 in 4 e-mail users say they've checked e-mail in bed in their pajamas. Others have checked e-mail in the bathroom (talk about multitasking) or while driving in their car (a big no-no) and 1% admit to having committed the ultimate sin, checking e-mail while in church. The need to be glued to their inbox almost becomes a compulsion for some people. And with wireless access for laptops seemingly everywhere you go " in airports, coffee shops, even in McDonalds, you can check e-mail from just about anywhere. Not to mention the popularity of wireless handheld devices like Blackberries -- sometimes referred to as "crackberries" because they're so addictive. There's even a condition called "Blackberry thumb" that some heavy users are being diagnosed with. Well, orthopedists actually call it "overuse syndrome," but you know what it's from if you have it. It's normally shows up as a throbbing pain between your thumb and your wrist.
Some Tips That Help Curb E-Mail Addiction
Believe it or not, you can actually breeze through e-mail. The key is to develop more efficient ways of handling it. But keep in mind, most people in this boat have two or three e-mail accounts they're working off of (usually one for work and others addresses for friends and family), so cutting back on e-mail isn't going to be easy. They're the hamster on the wheel trying to keep up with that inbox. Most of us know someone like this -- they're the same people who have a Tivo box loaded with dozens and dozens of TV shows they'll never have a chance to watch. The first step to getting things under control is to come up with a game plan and begin to implement some simple rules:
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Set a "Virtual Curfew" -- no exchanges after 10 pm for instance.
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Meal Time is Not Mail Time -- Turn off all devices during meals. If you've got your Blackberry in one hand and a sandwich in the other " red flag. (Same goes for meetings. Leave your handheld devices in your office or you'll never be entirely focused on anything).
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The "Rule of 3" -- if it takes more than 3 e-mail exchanges to sort something out, pick up the phone.
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Nix Neighborly E-mails -- if you're sitting right next to someone in the office, don't send them e-mail. This sounds like a no-brainer, but it happens everyday. Stand up and talk to them face-to-face.
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Check Yourself -- if you didn't send so much e-mail, maybe you wouldn't get so much.
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Don't Over-Reply -- short or one word e-mails like: "great!" or "sounds good" are probably just flooding someone else's box. Spare them.
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Stop the Swirl -- one way to cut down on getting a million replies or -- e-mail "swirl" -- is to keep the number of cc:'s in check. Also if you were cc:'d on something, don't feel compelled to write back. If everyone does, you're all in deep.
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Store, Don't Hoard -- the problem with e-mail is not the new messages coming in every day, it's the mess that's already there. Rather than save all your e-mail messages as "New," store them on your computer. On AOL it's called your personal filing cabinet. Your messages won't vanish into thin air, they'll be there should you need to refer back to them.
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Deal With it -- deal with each message as you open it: delete it, forward it, schedule it, respond to it, file it, etc.
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Don't Scroll -- establish a goal of always keeping your inbox to one screen. In other words, you should always be able to see the last message in your Inbox without scrolling. This might sound impossible, but it can be done.
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Can Spam -- most ISP's have built-in spam controls. Make sure you have them setup so junk mail goes straight into the "spam folder," so you don't even see it or have to deal with it. If spam does slip through, click the "report spam" button or "delete" it and it's gone.
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Unsubscribe -- unsubscribe to unwanted newsletters -- maybe it was once great, but you're over it. Take a few seconds to get off the list and you won't have to see it in your inbox each day.
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Limit activity to 10 minutes a day while on vacation -- 60% of e-mail users check e-mail while on vacation. And if your e-mail is all you can think about when you are lying on the beach, you've wrecked it. So, while some people may brag they "didn't check their e-mail for a week" while on vacation, for others it's not worth the stress and the solution is easy, check your e-mail! Bring a laptop, your Blackberry, or cell phone and allow yourself 10 minutes of e-mail time a day just to clear your mind. You can also check your mail on the web from any computer. Whether you're logging into your office network or checking your AOL mail on the Web on AOL.com, you can do it from the business center computer in your hotel or in the local cyber-caf. But don't get sucked in and waste your vacation away on the computeryour family might decide to leave you at home next time around.
- Take a Day Off -- Designate one day a week to be e-mail free -- or even E-Mail-Free Weekends.
Curbing your addiction to e-mail will definitely take some self-discipline. Setting some simple boundaries is a good start and you should find yourself reclaiming a lot of free time and relieving a lot of stress in the process.
Krista D. Thomas is a senior member of AOL's corporate communications team.
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