{"id":89,"date":"2008-06-23T20:36:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-23T20:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/watt-media.com\/b\/?p=89"},"modified":"2025-01-24T04:54:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T09:54:24","slug":"e-mail-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wattmedia.com\/blog\/e-mail-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"E-mail Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, my name is Amir and I\u2019m an e-mail addict. Well, actually I\u2019m a former addict. I was deeply entrenched in e-mail addiction \u2013 checking e-mails countless times throughout the day \u2013 clicking on Outlook\u2019s Send\/Receive<\/em> button every few minutes, anxiously looking for new incoming mail. Those who sent me e-mails came to expect a quick response, and were even amazed at how quickly I got back to them.<\/p>\n

My Blackberry kept me plugged in even when I left the office. I\u2019d check it several times during lunch, not wanting to miss any important e-mails. The same pattern would continue in the evening. My family came to expect it and tolerated it, but I know my wife hated it \u2013 my mind was on work all the time. Not on any specific work or project, but on e-mails in general. These e-mails were often unimportant and could\u2019ve waited until the next work day, but I felt the compulsion to always know what lay in my Inbox.<\/p>\n

Then, one day a few months ago, I realized it \u2013 I was addicted to e-mail! My entire workday revolved around e-mails \u2013 it was a disorganized mess, with no real focus or purpose. At the end of each workday, I left the office feeling like I had worked many hard hours, but with an empty feeling wondering what I had really accomplished.<\/p>\n

So I wondered \u2013 what would happen if I didn\u2019t check my e-mail continually every few minutes? What would happen if I didn\u2019t check my e-mail at night? Would my clients revolt? Would I lose business? So I set out with an experiment \u2013 for the next week, I resolved to check e-mails only three times a day \u2013 once in the morning when I arrived to the office it at 9:00 am, again at noon, and finally at 4:30pm for any late afternoon e-mails. Then, I would not check it at all the entire evening at home, until I returned to work the following morning.<\/p>\n

The first day, I was anxious \u2013 I felt the need to check my e-mails, but forced myself to abstain. The time away from e-mail checking allowed me to plan and organize, and I was amazed at how much I accomplished, and how much \u201creal\u201d work I got done. At noon, and again at 4:30pm, the e-mails came flooding in. I replied to them, and returned to the work at hand.<\/p>\n

When I left the office that day, I was a bit nervous about the idea of not checking e-mails all evening, but deep down I knew that any e-mail that came in during that time could wait until the next day. As I spent time with my family that evening, I actually enjoyed my freedom from work, and had the most relaxing evening in a long time. That week, I continued the same pattern, and was amazed at the results. I turned off e-mails on my Blackberry, and when I went out for lunch \u2013 I was truly free to enjoy my lunch time. Ignorance was bliss \u2013 those damn e-mails could wait an hour!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I realized – clients actually didn\u2019t ever expect a reply within minutes, and most issues could wait a few hours or even the next day for a response. If a client had an urgent matter, they would simply call if their e-mail wasn\u2019t answered. There was almost no issue that would arise that would really need my attention during lunch, on evenings or weekends. It can wait!<\/p>\n

Some of my colleagues, friends, and clients needed to get used to my new e-mail protocol, though. Many of them are e-mail addicts themselves, and I had to train them to understand that their e-mails wouldn\u2019t get an immediate response. It took some time \u2013 some would call and ask, \u201cDid you get my e-mail? I didn\u2019t hear back from you.\u201d To which I politely explained, \u201cI only check my e-mails a few times a day. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s there \u2013 if not, I will let you know.\u201d I had to retrain them \u2013 it was that simple.<\/p>\n

So I write to you now as a recovering addict, who feels as though he has been reborn \u2013 I have been released from the self-induced bondage of e-mail slavery! I\u2019m free!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi, my name is Amir and I\u2019m an e-mail addict. Well, actually I\u2019m a former addict. I was deeply entrenched in e-mail addiction \u2013 checking e-mails countless times throughout the day \u2013 clicking on Outlook\u2019s Send\/Receive button every few minutes, anxiously looking for new incoming mail. Those who sent me e-mails came to expect a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-small-business-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nE-mail Addiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Email addiction is a serious problem which can affect our productivity and well-being.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wattmedia.com\/blog\/e-mail-addiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"E-mail Addiction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Email addiction is a serious problem which can affect our productivity and well-being.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wattmedia.com\/blog\/e-mail-addiction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watt Media Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-06-23T20:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T09:54:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wattmedia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/7172.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amir Watynski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amir Watynski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" 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