Are you addicted to email?

(Published on 6 February 2007 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

This is a confession. I have to admit that I am addicted to email. The first thing I do in the morning before I even brush my teeth is to check my mail box. The last thing I do before jumping into bed at night is to quickly check on my email. If for some reason I am unable to get online before hitting the pillow – I am restless all through the night… believing that there’s something lurking in the shadows of the virtual world. A feeling of uncertainty at what awaits me in my mailbox engulfs me. An uneasy fear.

Before you guffaw and pass off this write up as just another writer whining and wanting to turn yet another non-issue into an issue… think again for I am not alone. Many people suffer with what psychiatrists call – addiction to email!

Dilbert, the comic strip character once complained to Dogbert, “I’m addicted to email. My endorphins spike when I get a message. And when there are no messages, loneliness and despair overcome me.” Though over-the-top, Dilbert’s feelings are quite common. A lot of internet users today look to the web for solace and company. According to a study, nearly 41 percent of adults in America clamber out of bed and check their email first thing in the morning. What’s even more amazing is that more and more people now believe that it is unthinkable to go beyond two or three days without a virtual fix!

Email addiction can be compared to drug addiction. All the symptoms of addiction are present. There is a rush when one hears the sound of an email alert… and withdrawal symptoms come into play in the form of depression when the inbox is empty. An email addict has a perpetual craving to be wired. How else would you explain travellers on transit rushing to internet cafes or to wi-fi enabled locations at an airport?

Office goers are known to work right through the day with their mail boxes open – with one eye (or ear in the case of an email alert) firmly planted on the inbox. This has resulted in chronic multi-tasking and as a result shrinking attention spans. What we fail to realise is that this addiction to email has a devastating effect on one essential thing: productivity. If you’d like to enhance your productivity, give up the tendency to multi-task—and stop checking and rechecking your email inbox in the midst of other assignments.

It is wise to look for rehabilitation to counter any addiction. Email addiction cannot be taken lightly. For email addiction there are solutions short of rehab. Here are some tips to help loosen the grip of the ‘web’ noose:

Emails are supposed to ease and streamline communication. Work with your email, not against it. Make the system you have chosen work in your favour and to suit your requirements.

Send certain messages, like greetings, thank you notes and congratulatory notes by snail mail. Alternatively, take the help of the organiser to pre- plan and send these messages at an earlier date.

Set a rigid email timeframe. This is difficult and requires immense will power. Enforce rules and convince yourself that email is not allowed before or after the set timings.

Turn off the ‘ding’ sound that alerts you to new messages. It can be distracting and an annoying interruption.

Try to close up email shop completely for a few days. As a rule not accessing your emails over week-ends is a good start.

I’ve made up my mind. I am going to turn a new leaf. I am not going to let myself turn into another internet junky! I am glad I have been able to extract myself before I got entangled in the vicious World Wide Web.

Miss Know-All
miss.know.all@gmail.com