Dealing with E-Mail Overload
May 21st, 2010
Time flies. Most especially in May, with Mother’s Day, birthdays, graduations, WisCon, and most important—bird migration. (Aside: I participated in the Gustie bird count over the weekend and we saw some excellent birds—prothonotary warbler, common yellowthroat, white-crowned sparrow, scads of red-bellied woodpeckers, and a bald eagle.)
I have finally finished The Tyranny of E-mail by John Freeman. Given that “e-mail has pulverized our days into bite-sized moments of attention,” what’s to be done?
Freeman’s #1 suggestion: Don’t send.
This is not to say stop engaging in e-mail. But do it thoughtfully. Seriously—it almost seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? E-mail and impulse go hand in hand. Thought and its second cousin mindfulness are far, far out in left field.
Here’s a guideline: If it’s something you wouldn’t say to a person’s face, don’t send. One of the things I hadn’t thought of (but recognized with a “duh” when I read it) is that inhibitions are often completely dropped in e-mail correspondence (psychologists even have a word for it: disinhibition). If it’s a dig or a snipe that you probably wouldn’t say in person, or if you seriously disagree and you can hear your fingers pounding that keyboard—probably a phone call (or a walk down the hall if it’s a colleague) would be the better approach.
We check our e-mail more often than we drink water. (Who does these studies?) But it gives an interesting perspective. How else can we get this under control?
Well, Don’t Send. Here’s my pet peeve: Overuse of “Reply All”: Does everyone on the distribution list really need to hear what you have to say, or can you simply reply to the sender? Copying 200 people on “Congratulations! Well Done!” is not a good idea (unless, perhaps, you’re the CEO). Do not use e-mail to try to induce joie de vivre.
Another tip to reduce or help manage your e-mail:
Do not check your work e-mail either first thing in the morning or late at night. It puts a little boundary between your private life and your work life, which is a good thing.
Also: Check e-mail only twice a day. What? What? Can anyone do this? And then I read this: “If you work in an environment where many people keep their inboxes open all day…”
And I stopped. Doesn’t everyone at work keep their inboxes open all day? Apparently not. And here’s a no-brainer:
Turn off the instant notification e-mail alert. This simple change has helped me be more focused on my tasks, and then I check e-mail as I move from one task or project to another.
A few more suggestions to save time in the long run:
- Read the entire incoming e-mail before replying.
- Don’t debate complex or sensitive matters by e-mail.
- Set up your desk to do something besides e-mail. Have a spot for work that isn’t done on the computer—a space for reading, thinking, doodling, sketching. A place where you can let your mind wander to that elusive place of creativity and good, deep ideas.
And finally—schedule media-free time every day. Even an hour—no e-mail, no texting, no IMs. No internet? No computer? No phone? No TV? No radio? Take it as far as you like. Your brain will be happy for the rest, and you might realize or learn something really valuable.

The point of writing is not to transmit information but to create information.
Interestingly, the article suggests that hunger has less to do with a shortage of food than with a shortage of affordable or accessible food. In other words: We have plenty of food, it just isn’t going where it’s needed (or if it is, the people there can’t afford it). Population has grown, yes; but food production has grown even faster.














