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From Mark Ford, founder, Palm Beach Research Group: Email has made a big difference in the way we communicate. It’s made written correspondence easier and faster—and that’s the American dream!
I remember the old days and how employees used to line up outside my office door, waiting for me to put the phone down. Many of them waited futilely, only to give up and return to their desks—with their questions unanswered and their comments unheeded.
Nowadays I am more accessible. On a typical workday, I get between 300 and 500 email messages. About half of them require feedback. That’s a lot of interaction—a great deal more than in the old days.
More contact is generally good.
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A recent Opinion Matters survey even found that 90% of respondents would say that email is more blessing than curse.
But—and you knew there would be a “but”—email has its dark side. It can be an extraordinary waste of time.
I started talking about the problems of email correspondence back in 2000, before it was widely discussed.
But in May of 2016, a new study in the UK corroborated this notion. The head of the study, Dr. Richard MacKinnon, said:
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Our research shows that email is a double-edged sword. Whilst it can be a valuable communication tool, it’s clear that it’s a source of stress or frustration for many of us. The people who reported it being most useful to them also reported the highest levels of email pressure! But the habits we develop, the emotional reactions we have to messages and the unwritten organisational etiquette around email, combine into a toxic source of stress which could be negatively impacting our productivity and wellbeing. |
From personal experience, I can say that I agree. Several years ago, after encouraging people to email me with their problems, questions, and complaints, I found my email overflowing with urgent messages. I’d open up my email first thing in the morning and spend most of the rest of the day trading messages.
Two problems arose, both serious. First, I had no time left to get my own work done. Second, I ended up micromanaging discussions that were urgent but not terribly important.
Recently, at a retreat for managers, I discovered that three-quarters of them were on email almost nonstop throughout the day. This came as a bit of a shock to me. I had naively thought that they would have figured out what I had figured out—that when it comes to email, less is more.
Unless you absolutely must, don’t open your email box more than twice per day. Once is best. Resist the urge to “keep up” with all the messages flying back and forth out there. Realize that, in most cases, daily contact is plenty.
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If you get into the habit of opening up your mailbox more than twice per day, you’ll find that the amount of email you get will increase… and an increasing proportion of those messages will be unimportant.
You’ll also find yourself in conversations that don’t really matter, wasting energy discussing issues that will resolve themselves. And if that happens too often, people will begin expecting you to do their work, solve their problems, etc.
On top of all this, you might find yourself falling into a sour mood after dealing with email after email. Email can be stressful and frustrating. This can sap you of the energy you need to accomplish something important.
Ultimately, if you don’t ween yourself from it, your inbox will be your boss. It will dictate what you do and when. That is a very bad thing. You want to be your own boss. You want to be in charge of your schedule and the master of your own time.
I’ve been limiting my email activity to twice per day for more than a year—ever since KY first suggested the idea to me. It’s made a world of difference.
You should try the same. Start tomorrow morning. Come in early. Create a task list. Make sure it corresponds to your goals. Before you open your email inbox, do something that’s Important-But-Not-Urgent. When it’s time to read and respond to email, do it in one or two specific blocks of time.
If you limit the time you devote to email, it will be easier to figure out how much time you can devote to each message. The bottleneck problem that is running through your computer will gradually diminish. Pretty soon, you’ll be making progress again—running your day instead of letting it run you.
Reeves’ Note: Reducing email use is one way to become a more productive employee or entrepreneur. Mark has taught thousands of people how to build their wealth over the years by using this and similar techniques. He and PBRG co-founder Tom Dyson call them “subversive income” secrets.
You can find out why their plan is the fastest way to make a (legal) fortune in America today, right here.
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