Consider these facts from a September 2009 Harvard Business Review article titled "Death by Information Overload."
- Interruptions eat up 28% of the workday.
- It takes an average of 24 minutes to get back on task after checking a message.
- Forty-six percent of surveyed users claim they are "hooked" on email.
- Nearly 60% check email in the bathroom, 15% in church, 11% on the sly, hoping nobody notices.
- For every 6 messages put aside for the day, 5 are ignored for good.
Text messages and other forms of cyber communication can add to the information deluge. Many of us whine about the overflow of messages that flood our screens but we don't know how to stop the flow without missing something important. One research project found 85% of email messages are opened within two minutes after their arrival. Most senders expect a quick response and we can feel inefficient, uncaring or guilty if a message is put aside, even temporarily. Maybe hundreds of articles give guidance for controlling email including what follows from the HBR writer. All can apply as well to text messages and social networking communication.
- Don't leave communication devices on all the time. Turn off automatic notification bells signaling the arrival of email. Set specific times every day to check and answer messages. Be firm in keeping these boundaries.
- Be realistic about your inability to answer everyone. It distresses me when I can't answer all incoming messages.
- Send less email. Outgoing messages generate an average of two responses.
- Write messages that are clear and concise.
- Avoid sending unnecessary copies or hitting the "respond to all" button. These clog the inboxes of others.
- Use the "urgent attachment" sparingly. Your important request may be annoying to recipients who are interrupted by messages that they don't consider to be urgent.
- Find ways to prevent email or text messages from dominating your time and your life. "It's up to you to take control of your information problem. That means modifying your thinking and behavior."
Every week the Gary R. Collins Newsletter goes to a group of readers around the world. The above is Gary's latest letter. To receive the letter each week in your email box, please click here. The letter is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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