Email Overload

Business people are plagued with numerous distractions at work. We deal with email, the internet, phone calls, unexpected meetings, unorganized and cluttered work spaces, changing priorities, annoying cell phones, pagers, PDAs, and constant interruptions. Senior executives and managers report that the biggest distractions are the crisis of the moment and e-mail.

To better manage all of these crazy distractions at work, people are arriving at work earlier, staying later, closing their doors more often, and setting clear boundaries. However, email continues to be a growing problem for just about everyone. The email overload can come from both inside and outside the organization, including customers, colleagues, superiors, family members, lists, and spam. There has been an explosion of e-mail in offices across the country, and not all of it is spam. Answering 50 or 100 e-mails a day — or just wading through them — can disrupt workflow and cost money. Get some real useful tips for managing your email better from Marilyn Paul, Business expert and author of “It’s Hard to Make a Difference when you can’t Find your Keys”.

The real issue is the perception and beliefs that people have. Why do people believe that they “have to” be available 24 hours a day? Why do they “have to” be involved in all the details of every project? Why do we “have to” attend so many meetings?

Reassess the “have to’s” and “should’s” and you may make different decisions!