Fast-forward 15-years and boy have things surely changed. Many of my patients discuss the continual stress and heightened anxiety caused by their email. Having to check and respond to work and personal email in the evening is often used as an excuse as to why they are not getting exercise, spending more time with friends and family, sleeping 8 hours, or having much fun in life. Due to these phenomena in my practice I have been querying individuals. I have been asking one simple question, "Do you enjoy emailing?" Not a single one answered in the affirmative.
Here were some of the complaints:
• Email is a time and fun sucker. I spend hours catching up on email every night.
• I do work at home for hours and don't get compensated for it.
• It feels as if 90% of my emails are negative. Some problem I have to solve.
• People used to give you a few days to respond but now if you haven't responded by the end of the day an annoyed email is likely to follow.
• People misinterpret my tone in emails and not in a positive way.
• A surgeon stated that he gets an average of 200 emails a day that can't be answered at work because he is working so he answers them at 9pm at night when he should be spending that time with his family or relaxing. If he misses a couple of days it becomes impossible to catch up so occasionally he must claim email bankruptcy and wipe the slate clean.
• A 15 year-old said, "email. who has email?"
At first, I was surprised that so many teenagers have nothing to do with emailing but then psychologically it makes perfect sense. Teens do not like to feel the pressure of having to do anything. When something becomes stressful for them they are experts at figuring a way out.
I would like to find a way to limit the negative consequence of emailing while keeping the conveniences. It surely is easier to plan a meeting or to communicate with fellow book club members through emailing. I have a fantasy about joining those teenagers I spoke to and closing down my email accounts but I am probably not brave enough to do it. In the meantime, I will promise to not hit "reply all" and junk up the inbox of others. I will end email communications with several people and begin letter writing instead. Maybe I will be so bold to have an out going response that says I only check my email once a week and I might not get to your email. If you need to get in touch with me, please call or write or stop by.
At first, I was surprised that so many teenagers have nothing to do with emailing but then psychologically it makes perfect sense. Teens do not like to feel the pressure of having to do anything. When something becomes stressful for them they are experts at figuring a way out.
I would like to find a way to limit the negative consequence of emailing while keeping the conveniences. It surely is easier to plan a meeting or to communicate with fellow book club members through emailing. I have a fantasy about joining those teenagers I spoke to and closing down my email accounts but I am probably not brave enough to do it. In the meantime, I will promise to not hit "reply all" and junk up the inbox of others. I will end email communications with several people and begin letter writing instead. Maybe I will be so bold to have an out going response that says I only check my email once a week and I might not get to your email. If you need to get in touch with me, please call or write or stop by.
via: phsycologytoday
If you find your mouse straying towards the "check email" button far too often, try these tactics:
· Turn off intrusive alerts. Anything that pops up, flashes, or goes "ding!" will interrupt you when you're trying to focus and will trigger a response to check your email.
· Set your email client to display just the title and first few lines of the email, so you can easily decide if it really is important enough to deal with right now.
· Use other tools. Twitter and instant messaging (IM) are both better for asking short questions of chosen groups. Wikis are better for collaborating on documents. Blogs are better for publishing information and having informal conversations.
· Send fewer emails. Do you need to hit "reply to all"?
· Schedule your email. Set aside time each day to deal with your inbox and ignore it for the rest of the day. Most people check first thing in the morning and late afternoon.
· Turn off intrusive alerts. Anything that pops up, flashes, or goes "ding!" will interrupt you when you're trying to focus and will trigger a response to check your email.
· Set your email client to display just the title and first few lines of the email, so you can easily decide if it really is important enough to deal with right now.
· Use other tools. Twitter and instant messaging (IM) are both better for asking short questions of chosen groups. Wikis are better for collaborating on documents. Blogs are better for publishing information and having informal conversations.
· Send fewer emails. Do you need to hit "reply to all"?
· Schedule your email. Set aside time each day to deal with your inbox and ignore it for the rest of the day. Most people check first thing in the morning and late afternoon.
via: guardian
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