I still have an email addiction. Do you?

email addiction Peter Crocker In my last newsletter Confessions from an email addict, I spilt the beans on my compulsive email behaviours. Despite some frank self talk and bold promises, I’m sorry to report that my email addiction continues.

Behaviour such as checking email in the middle of the night and getting anxious if away from email may seem extreme to some. However, it seems I am in good company with 81% of readers polled saying they had an email addiction and heartfelt email confessions coming in from 60+ self confessed email addicts!

Jazinta admitted pride at having had over 25,000 emails in her inbox. Marie described withdrawal symptoms including heartburn, headache and shakes. Philip’s rapid response rates prompted clients to call him to see why he hadn’t responded to their email from only 20 minutes before!

To escape email’s clutches I declared that I would start checking email only four times per day for three weeks. And I succeeded enthusiastically right up until I fell off the wagon a day and a half later.

I soon found that email was too central to running my day-to-day business to let go of that easily. With most of my work done online, much of it with tight deadlines, long email blackouts seemed to do more harm than good. However, after some experimentation I did reach a compromise.

I have made, and am still making, some fundamental changes to my email habits that are working well:

I only turn email on in the morning when I’m actually ready to start work for the day – I was in the habit of checking email the minute I woke up
I now fully shut down the computer at the end of the workday – this cuts the temptation to pop in and check email during ad breaks or on weekends
I set aside uninterrupted blocks of time of at least an hour to work on set tasks before checking email briefly – I was previously checking email every 10 minutes
I am setting up rules and folders to manage automated or regular emails – these can then be checked when it suits me
I’m sticking to the good old fashioned mobile phone – I did have a BlackBerry for a few months but have since avoided the temptation to take my email with me

So there it is, some progress in fighting my email addiction but the battle continues. For many of us, I think email overwhelm will remain a constant struggle. But I am resolved to better manage the symptoms. So far so good.

How are you going in your own fight with the inbox? We’d love to hear your experiences.

Love your work,

Peter Crocker is a director of Flying Solo responsible for the areas of marketing and advertising. He is a business copywriter specialising in websites, videos and marketing communications.

02 Jun 09

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I love email and I'm not giving it up! I go long periods without it when I'm with clients. What is wrong with checking it in the ad breaks - it's a good use of time - rather than sitting there watching the ads.
I've got a smart phone, but rarely use it for email as it's just too small a screen and too fiddley to bother most of the time.
I know it can break up your focus if not careful, but if I think checking it twice a day or the like is completely unrealistic and means I may miss opportunities - clients love it if I ring them or reply quickly - which I do when I can, it makes them feel valued and special. Imogen Lamport from Melbourne Australia
My Blackberry is essential because I can check emails wherever I am BUT I simply leave it in the car or in a drawer at home when I want to have a life! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
I thought I was addicted, and did display many traits of the afflicted, but then I just went away for a month AND DIDNT CHECK IT ONCE! Left it all to my very capable assistant and never felt the urge to snoop via web mail. I am very proud of myself!
Facebook, now that's a different story....... Di from South NSW
Its important to remember we all have our own style of operating... For some interruptions are a positive break, for others, who need time to get into the groove, it can cost a great deal in 'lost productivity'.
The real issue as I see it is 'ensuring you are steering your own ship'. What works for me is to let my clients, suppliers etc know how our business operates; business hours, block email download etc. with a reassurance that if there is a need to contact me urgently my mobile is always 'on'.
I also keep people in the loop as to my movements. If you are not readily available to answer emails, use the 'out of office' message function to advise when you will get back to them. It seems to work. It also 'trains' us to THINK before CLICK; is this really urgent, can it wait another hour. Am I operating efficiently or compulsively, trying to clear my To Do list.
We are under the delusion that all things need to happen NOW, even our gardens. We buy twenty foot high trees, plant them and hope they survive. Gone are the days of planting and waiting. So too with business. In our habit of doing thing quickly, not always efficiently, we may have missed a golden opportunity which needed time to germinate. Again, its very individual, according to our modus operatum and business type/service.
Let's just take a moment and do an audit. Are we operating efficiently, or are we responding to the social conditioning that if we are not busy, we are not moving forward. Maybe the 80/20 rules needs to be revisited. Dianne Barrett from Sydney
I've found an effective way to cut down the amount of time I spend on my emails is to set up rules for my inbox, so that (e.g.) all of the Flying Solo newsletters go to a folder. All of the emails from friends go to their respective folders. This saves me heaps of time as what ends up in my main inbox is 85% relevant stuff that needs to be responded to NOW. Everything else is neatly filed away for when I have time to get to it. In this way, I ensure that I don't stop working in the middle of something important to check emails which end up being M&M ads (although that was quite amusing!) ... or putting off clients to answer an email from my mum ... I reckon this has saved me at least an hour every day ... Leela Cosgrove from Melbourne, Australia
I read this article and thought 'Its me!' LOL
I am due to give birth in a few days and have already organised my laptop with broadband access. The hosptial has informed me that in the actual birth suite there is no ability to get internet access, to which I replied that during the actual birth I would be ok, but that I would need to hit 'send/receive' shortly thereafter.
As the owner of a web solutions company I feel justified in needing continued access to the electronic world, even during the birth of my child (well, shortly thereafter anyhow) because despite my personal/family circumstances, clients still need continued support and I cannot just walk out on my business responsibilities.
And to be honest, having the ability to run my company via laptop whilst away from the business it great comfort, as opposed to panicking that something could be going wrong and I'm not there to fix it.
So I guess some would look at me as a control-freak, with obsessive email addiction - I look at myself as a working mum, blessed with technology that allows a career and a family, anywhere in the world, including when becoming a new mum again! Nat from Brisbane

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