Are You an E-mail Addict?

It takes an average of four minutes to read an e-mail and recover from the interruption before resuming productive work, according to Marsha Egan, an executive coach. Multiply that by the number of times you and your staff read e-mails, and it’s easy to see that e-mail misuse can cost millions a year in lost productivity. With portable e-mail devices becoming more and more apart of a professional’s attire, this problem will likely continue to worsen.

Egan has created a 12-step program to help businesspeople cope with their e-mail addiction. Motivated by clients such as the golfer who needed to check his BlackBerry for messages after every swing, she works with people who seem to have no control over when and how often they are checking and responding to e-mail messages. Egan has devised a checklist (which you can view on her website) to discover whether or not you may be an e-mail addict, which includes such questions as: Do you keep more than 1,000 items in your inbox at all times? Do you check your spam filters hourly (or less) to make sure you’re not missing anything? Do you ask new acquaintances for their e-mail addresses, not their phone numbers?

Her plan includes a series of steps, from acknowledging your “e-ddiction” to strategies on letting your e-mail go when necessary and managing it correctly (in general, checking e-mail no more than three or four times a day) so that you can reclaim a balance in your life. Other ideas: “When you are working on something important, just turn off your e-mail, so you are not tempted by the little ‘ting.’” She also suggests you let others know how you are managing your e-mail now, and that you may not respond immediately unless it is urgent. Finally, Egan says, “send less e-mail. E-mail begets e-mail.” For more information, visit www.eganemailsolutions.com.