How to Delete Email Addiction

I have a secret: I am an email-holic, and I am addicted to email.

Despite persistent drive to improve my productivity and personal efficiency, I am hooked on email, and occasionally social networking sites like facebook. I have read countless articles on the topic, including Tim’s 4HWW. Each time, I would get inspired, follow it for a few days, and eventually fall back on my routine of checking email, every spare moment.

I would be writing an article or in the middle of work, my mind would wander and my hands would automatically fire-up my email inbox. If my inbox was full, I’d spend the next hour answering emails or reading links from emails. But, even if I didn’t get any emails, I would start visiting another site I frequent, or I’d check my web stats. Thirty minutes or an hour would go by. I would realize how much time I’ve just wasted and I’d think to myself, “Ahhh! Crap! Shoot me! Okay, I better get back to what I was doing.”

Does this sound familiar? Can you feel my pain?

If not, then perhaps you’ve already mastered the art and self-discipline of email productivity. In which case, please help a girl out and share your tips. Some of the best tips show up in the comments :)

Why Do We Become Email-Holics?

Personal Insecurities – Receiving emails gives us the perception that there are people out there wanting to talk to us. The demand for our attention helps us feel liked, desired, loved. We all want to feel important and that we fit in with our friends and family. I believe this is the number one reason for email-holic behaviors.
For example, do you remember how excited you were when checking your inbox to find new messages? Similarly, do you remember that subtle feelings of disappointments when you haven’t checked your email for a while, and found nothing new in your inbox? This is not wrong, it is part of our innate needs is to feel loved and connected with others. This feeling is natural, and we often do not try to solve the root cause by understanding it more deeply.
Small Costs Add Up – Most of us are surprised when we get our credit card bill at the end of the month. How did it get so high? All I spent money on was groceries and restaurants? When we feel like we need something this moment, we fail to recognize what the cumulative cost it will be, when we look back on it, later. The same theory applies to our use of time. When I want to check my email, I think to myself, “it’s only going to take a second. It’s not going to slow me down at all!”. Even when checking my email does only take a minute, when I do it thirty times a day, I’ve suddenly wasted more than thirty minutes.
Fear of Failure or Change - As we are working towards a personal or collective goal, the future is often unknown and requires that we change our otherwise comfortable lives. Despite this change often resulting in a better life situation for us, our ego resists this. It injects fear in our inner space, and we start to unconsciously and secretly welcome distractions that take our attention away from our tasks. This is why we sometimes find it difficult to contribute action towards a cause that will improve the quality of our lives. Email is just one channel of such a distraction to delay action.
Lack of Purpose – Let’s face it, we get bored pretty easy in absence of a purpose. I believe boredom is one of the main reasons why many of us spend extra time checking email, browsing the web, and channel surfing. Even if we had a purpose, that purpose may not be clear and apparent enough in our minds. Which segways to the next point…
Lack of Awareness – When we do things without awareness (and this happens to me often), it feels like watching your world float by, behind a layer of foggy glasses. When we perform daily actions without much thought, we can easily become floaters and drift through the days. Trying to turn off our minds happens almost instinctually, and before we know it, the time has passed.
Habits are Comfortable – Checking email is so easy and comfortable. It’s so much easier to do than say, going to the gym or write a thousand word article on Email-holics. :) What we repeat over and over becomes automatic actions and forms our habits. If we check email over and over due to the instant gratification that email provides, it becomes a habit.

Email-Holics Rehabilitation Recipes & Tips

What can email-holics do to help themselves? Great question! As I am trying to permanently habituate these changes into my life, I understand how tricky it can become. My advice is to introduce gradual changes, one step at a time.

Schedule & Time Ceilings – Give yourself a set time and duration for emails each day. It is much more efficient when we do things in batches. The set duration gives us a sense of urgency, which helps us accomplish more in less time. Consider using a timer.
Reply Immediately – Most of us have the habit of reading new emails, and then leaving them there to be replied later. I love reading new emails (makes me feel popular), but sometimes replying can feel like a chore. I’ve set out the rule for myself that I will only read new emails, if and only if I am willing to reply to it immediately. Leaving read emails that need attention not only adds to the load of tasks you have to complete, it takes up room in our inner space like physical clutter.
If I have more time, I could…. – What are some things you would love to do if you only had time? Be specific with the details. It even helps to write this down on an index card. Put this near your computer as a reminder that if you weren’t online, you’d have more time to do this thing. Use this as a motivator and reminder to not waste unnecessary time online.
Start an Email Backlog – Pay special attention to excuses of sending random quick emails. I find this thought the hardest to suppress. If I have an urge to quickly email someone, I’ve found it useful to make a note, and come back to it later. This helps me batch my emails together instead of losing sight of what I’m doing at that moment. I keep a notepad on my desk as an email backlog. As an example, I wrote down that I need to enter Sahala’s cell phone number in my phone, from his email.
Install GmailThis! – If you still find that you have to send email often, get the GmailThis! bookmarklette. This little tool allows you to send email via Gmail without opening Gmail in a full browser, so you don’t read your email. This has become really handy when I’m browsing and finds a page I want to send to my friends.
Turn Off Email Clients – Turn off outlook notification and keep your Gmail window closed.
Journal It & Observe It – Keep a quick journal record of your email-consumption habits. If you uncontrollably checked email, note down: the time, what were you doing before checking email, the duration that it took, and how you felt afterwards. This will give you some interesting insights into your email habit and habit triggers. This exercise aims to bring more conscious awareness into this habit.
Penalty Jar – if you’ve setup a rule like a max number of email checks per day. You can setup a penalty jar, such that you commit to deposit a dollar each time you violate your own rules. At the end of the week or months, count how much money is in the bar and donate it. If you don’t have the change, write yourself an IOU on a piece of paper and put in the jar.
Email Detox Days – Spend a day each week without ever checking email, period. Do this for a few days and you’ll realize that the world really can continue without you replying to emails.
Outsource - If you have the extra resource, consider hiring someone to check your emails. This is not a bad option if you have more than 10 personal inbound emails a day.
Reward – set out rewards ahead of time for yourself if you’ve reached a measurable goal to reduce email consumption. Some examples of rewards include: your favorite chocolate or sweet treat, a favorite meal, or spend more time at home with your loved ones.

Additional Email Organizational Tips:

Folders & Labels – Leaving all mail in the inbox looks messy and can make it harder to process what needs your attention. I like using the archive feature in gmail or create a separate folder called archive for processed emails. Here’s a simple technique I use to organize emails. I use have additional folders/labels to organize emails to keep things organized and easy to find when I need. I pretty much have a folder for every repeatable thing I do. The following are some labels I use in Gmail and folders I’ve created in Outlook:
- Family – For family related conversations.
- Travels – Where I keep all flight receipts and hotel bookings. This is a fast way to quickly access travel information when I need.
- Contacts – containing phone and address information of friends.
- BlogPosts – contains rss feeds delivered via email. I setup filters to sort it in here automatically.
Filter, filter, filter – try to automate the processing of any repeated, auto-generated or low-value emails such that you don’t even see them coming in the inbox. Most email clients have rules that you can setup to filter by things like, sender email, receiver email, and subject. For example, I have a filter setup to delete emails from flickr and facebook. I also filter out confirmation emails from shopping sites and other e-coupons.
Short & Concise – Keep emails short and concise. Remove filler words and get to the point.

I hope that you have found some of the above tips helpful. My goal is to check email 3 times a day (morning, mid afternoon and evening) for no more than 30 minutes each. As with replacing any old habits with new ones, the more you do them, the easier they will become. The more you adopt your new habits, the easier it is to remove the old.

You might be thinking, “That’s a lot to remember!” or “All that advice sounds great but it’ll be hard to do in reality.” Just tell yourself this instead; “Just because something seems difficult doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. Start small, start today. Turn your plan into a system in your daily life, with regular reminders and rewards.”

It is also worthy to note that many of the tips here are not just subjective to emails, but other online and offline addictions such as facebook and television.

Why do you think we become email-holics? What are some tips that’s worked well in your life? We’d love to hear your voice in the comments. See you there.

If you enjoyed this article, please vote for it on Digg, share it on StumbleUpon or bookmark it on del.icio.us. I appreciate your support. :)

Other Articles You May Like:

External Resources on Email Productivity:

Mike Davidson: 5 Sentence Emails
4HWW: 10 Steps to Become an Email Ninja
DailyBlogTips: 10 Tips for Managing Email Efficiently
WWD: 7 Rules for Clear and Concise Emails

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99 Responses (82 Comments, 17 Trackbacks ):

Comments

Ravi

Jan 27 08, 10:21 pm PDT

1
Great tips Tina!….one of the approaches I find most valuable, is to simply Opt-Out Of Non-Critical Communication. Reduce the influx of mail to begin with and managing it is all that much easier :)

Too often, people feel that being in the “know” means they should be subscribing to every mailing list and newsletter under the sun. This is often counter-productive. Personally, I have reduced my e-mail subscriptions (and even print magazines) to a bare minimum. I can always search for information on the web I need it….I don’t need to have it cluttering my inbox!

I wrote some other tips for e-mail mgmt that work for me on my blog @ http://www.sethigherstandards.com/simple-tips-for-email-mastery/

Ravi Raman

******************

REPLY:

Thanks for the link Ravi. I’ve read your article several months ago and have found your tip to avoid checking email first thing in the morning to be incredibly useful. Thanks for writing it and for sharing with us here.

Warmly,
Tina
sleepyhead
Jan 27 08, 10:37 pm PDT

2
Between work and personal email, I get over 300 emails a day, probably more. My “unread messages” count in gmail is way over 3000. Like Tina advises, I try to use as much filtering and auto-categorizing as possible, and try to only stick to important stuff. In the end I basically stopped worrying about reading and replying to all emails, which means that sometimes things get unread, but life moves on.

And the best way, in my opinion, to force yourself to do an email detox is to get outdoors. It’s hard to check email while you’re setting up a tent, or skiing down a mountain. I’m sure one day the Internet will blanket the world, so appreciate these non-digital paradises while you can!
Raymond

Jan 27 08, 11:07 pm PDT

3
Hi Tina,

I had the same problem too.

But, since I write down a timetable for myself everyday, it gets better. :)
madman
Jan 27 08, 11:12 pm PDT

4
You could try reducing Your message count by unsubscribing from some useless newsletters, message boards and forums.

What helped me a lot, was disabling all sorts of notifications, especially from social websites, which generate tons of this useless stuff. Other things I’ve done were similar to Yours (sorting emails according to their topics, auto-filtering of useless messages and spam and so on).
Turning off new email notifications also removed the urge to constantly read through new stuff.
Next step to stop message-checking habit was to start threating computer just as a tool – a tool meant for a specific purpose, not for wasting _my_ precious time… and it starts paying off :)
Wyatt Song

Jan 27 08, 11:24 pm PDT

5
What a coincidence, I just posted my Information Fast Week to over come my addiction of staying connected and scouring the web. Ironically i’m still been drawn to do “just one more” reading, here I am, finding your new post about fighting email addiction!

Hmmm… gotta kick myself in the butt… great post and perfect timing!

One of my favorite email management strategy is to reduce the amount of incoming emails by asking people to talk to me instead :) no emails to sort, problem solved. Of course this won’t stop your inbox from getting hundreds of emails, but the more you reduce email from coming in, the less you need to deal with.

In the past when I returned to the office back from my holiday, I would make one broadcast to everyone telling them I have recieved thousands of emails whist i was away, it would take me couple of weeks to go through, so if there’s any outstanding item awaiting my response, I invite them to talk to me.

I might get a dozen or so requests out of all these hundreds of emails that i need to immediately work on. Then I simply skip going through the inbox, NOT processing every single email. I get an update of on-going hot issues then jump to selective few at my schedule. Literally this saved me days of email processing time.

Cheers
Wyatt
Olga

Jan 27 08, 11:36 pm PDT

6
Really nice article! Unfortunately, not only should we deal with an e-mail addiction but also with a whole bunch of computer-related addictions. So really, I like it when you say ” … spend a day each week without ever checking email…” – I would add, without even switching on the computer is better.
sleepyhead
Jan 28 08, 4:21 am PDT

7
I agree that unsubscribing to unnecessary subscriptions, lists, and feeds is a good idea. Sometimes, however, it’s useful to be able to quickly reference or scan through them. Searching online, even with Google, isn’t adequate.

Gmail’s filter system addresses this really well. You can subscribe to as much as you want, but you also create filters for them and have it skip the inbox (archive). That way you don’t see it in your inbox, but you can still search through it. For instance, I follow a bunch of current US election discussion, but I don’t have time to follow every single post and conversation. So I just auto-archive it and search for “obama”, “mccain”, “hillary” etc to get the latest news on them.

Since the search feature is pretty quick on gmail, you can use this just to keep up with individuals. My brother sends me a ton of random interesting links every few days. I usually ignore them for a few days, then search for his name to pull up all the emails.

******************

REPLY:

That’s a good idea. I do similar things with RSS feeds. I prefer to have them sent via email and automatically archive and file. This way, I always have access to it when I need, have it searchable and read it when I have time, rather than have it being pushed on me.

Thanks Sleepy! :)
Tina
JEMi

Jan 28 08, 5:18 am PDT

8
I agree with Olga

I can find MANY ways to avoid doing the things I have to do by just being online

It’s amazing..ly sad actually

useful tips on the email – lol if I’m not on my laptop, I get them via phone.. it’s a vicious cycle

I’ll try some of these tips
Tom Volkar / Delightful Work

Jan 28 08, 7:41 am PDT

9
The double whammy of lack of purpose and lack of awareness can kill our intended productivity. Just raising our awareness on these two tips alone can do wonders.

Thank you, I also intend to use your email detoxify day suggestion. That’s what I was forced to do once when my hard drive was being cleaned. I thought I’d go nuts but I kind of enjoyed the freedom.
Jean Browman - Cheerful Monk

Jan 28 08, 10:04 am PDT

10
I don’t have much trouble with e-mail. I just let most of them pile up in my in box and toss most of them out every couple of weeks. I would like to ask about how useful you’ve found Timothy Ferriss. Is there any chance of you getting down to a 4-hour work week?

*********************

REPLY

I love Tim’s book as it has really given me new insights into alternative ways at looking at life and work. I have not got down to working 4-hour weeks yet, but I’m working on it. :)

–Tina
RZV

Jan 28 08, 12:46 pm PDT

11
I not only have to struggle with the high volume of work email I receive, but also the extraordinary amount of it I filter for the two Executives I support. My folder system is very simple; in fact, other than separation between mine and theirs, 90% of it is relented to what I call “The Pit,” where it remains indefinitely, pre-archived and readily searchable.

Regarding personal email addiction, my current method requires maintaining both a D-list blog and personality, thus ensuring very few people want to make contact with me.
Alehandro

Jan 28 08, 2:10 pm PDT

12
I am really addict and I can`t stoped and I don`t know why :(
Catherine

Jan 28 08, 5:06 pm PDT

13
I ‘let’ myself check my email once an hour, on the hour. As I work from home, this gives me something to look forward to!Emptying the inbox, though, is another issue altogether.

I also sometimes reward myself for work done by letting myself do some browsing after a block of work — for example, reading the online version of the newspaper at lunchtime. I’m not always that disciplined, though.
Matt Mueller

Jan 28 08, 6:53 pm PDT

14
Here’s what worked for me: use your inbox as a to-do list. First, use Gmail, and leave it open in a tab all day long. Second, deal with every incoming message as quickly as possible. To help with this you can use labels, for example I have a “To Do” label, a “Needs Response” label, and so forth. Lastly, keep your inbox clean. Once you have taken care of something archive it, you can always search for it later if need be.
aw

Jan 28 08, 7:04 pm PDT

15
Greetings from China. Anyway, I found it difficult to set down a timetable for each day …
Andy
Jan 28 08, 7:07 pm PDT

16
Email is not the problem. I get so damn much junk mail that I hate using it.
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2331213
Hank Fox
Jan 28 08, 7:31 pm PDT

17
Great piece.

I’m going to email it to myself.
Daniel
Jan 28 08, 7:37 pm PDT

18
Kind of ironic to have the Email Subscription link at the bottom of the article! More emails please!
Suzie Cheel
Jan 28 08, 8:50 pm PDT

19
Me too, I recently after reading Zen to done started the week with empty inboxes, that was bliss. It only lasted a few days . i like your 3 times a day .

This is a wonderful poast with lots of good suggestions Thankyou
Kelvin

Jan 28 08, 10:20 pm PDT

20
Gosh…now I know what is happening to me…I am an email addict! I find myself checking my mailbox every 5-10mins, hoping for more emails, and more emails, and more emails….help me….is there a 3 days email addiction detox program?
Alehandro

Jan 29 08, 5:13 am PDT

21
Kelvin, I am like you now :( I can`t understand myself :(
Steve

Jan 29 08, 6:35 am PDT

22
Love the blog and the subject. You hit home with most of us I can imagine. Nice work.
shy guy

Jan 29 08, 6:48 am PDT

23
But I hate spam email and advertising.. There’s about 80% about it at my email.. So that’s why sometimes I ignore to open inbox…
David Bradley

Jan 29 08, 6:55 am PDT

24
I wrote a post some time back entitled How to get nothing done, so your post rang really true…still not beaten the email habit though, so I’m going to take your tips to heart.

db
leafsfan81
Jan 29 08, 6:55 am PDT

25
With my job, I’ve noticed that e-mail has become more of a hindrance than a tool of trade. Many people seemingly e-mail just to e-mail, and it cuts into my productivity as well as their own. I tried filtering out e-mails as they came in, creating folders and sub-directories to be more efficient but I actually got a response back from MS Outlook stating that I had too little memory remaining for the rules I created.

Instead of trying to filter e-mails as they come in, I allow them to come in as they are. In the view settings [Outlook], I have the messages grouped by sender and I can expand/collapse on the name as if it was a folder. I started using Copernic Desktop Search at work [approved by our MIS Department] to index my e-mails and search on topics rather than filter messages into folders. [Or worse, try to add tags to the subjects to make the messages more meaningful when scanning]

The system works, albeit it isn’t a solution that I could easily port over to my webmail provider unless I use a desktop client to retrieve my messages and allow those to be indexed as well. But personal e-mail to me is timid by comparison and requires very little effort to organize. I only check that e-mail when I get an alert.

I find it difficult to batch e-mails into groups because in my position people like to have timely responses to their inquiries. At times to wait 2-3 hours to really read the messages and act upon them is simply out of the question. If a message requires a response, I acknowledge receipt of the e-mail to the sender but advise that I won’t begin working on the request until “x” amount of time has passed.
SD

Jan 29 08, 7:19 am PDT

26
Great article! I am definitely an email addict, and it takes up far too much of my time. I am going to have to impliment your tips and try to reduce my email clutter.

I fould your blog from your interview on Problogger. Great blog, I’m certainly going to subscribe!
Daryl Tay

Jan 29 08, 7:29 am PDT

27
Tina, saw your guest post on ProBlogger and loved it! And your post on email-holics totally resonates with me too! you officially have another new subscriber =)
Ratatosk
Jan 29 08, 8:34 am PDT

28
Um, I can’t see how you could get addicted to emails, but here’s advice on how to handle it the geek way:

Use a script on your computer that automatically opens your email program at 6pm or so for 1/2 hour and then closes it again. Unfortunately, this is only really easy to do on a Mac or Linux system.
gregory
Jan 29 08, 9:46 am PDT

29
it seems bad, i know, mind wandering, lost time, etc…

but that is just the tech… the underlying thing is quite natural… imagine being in a big room with all your friends, sometimes you talk, sometimes you work, the whole thing is fluid, living, good..

email is just that… don’t worry about it, just live
Mark McGuinness

Jan 29 08, 9:56 am PDT

30
Great post Tina, I feel your pain!

I was really struggling with the e-mail issues you describe until I came across Mark Forster’s book ‘Do it tomorrow’ – where he advises us to deal with e-mail by (you’ve guessed it) answering it tomorrow…

The BIG problem with e-mail is that it’s neverending, able to interrupt us at any moment, and horribly addictive. I can’t resist checking it several times a day – but I have learned to stop ANSWERING it the same day, and it’s changed my working life.

Here’s a quick summary of Mark Forster’s system:

1. Collect all e-mail in your inbox and put it in a folder marked ‘backlog’. This isolates the backlog so it can’t get any bigger.
2. Allow any e-mail coming in today to accumulate in your inbox. DO NOT ANSWER IT. Unless it’s a genuine emergency and a Big Disaster will happen if you don’t.
3. When you start work tomorrow, move all of yesterday’s e-mails (collected at step 2) into a folder marked ‘action’. Allow the inbox to fill up as before, so that it will collect another day’s worth of e-mails.
4. Set aside dedicated time to sit down an answer all of the e-mails in the ‘action’ folder in one batch.
5. Similarly, set aside time to work on clearing your backlog. Even if there are hundreds of e-mails in it, the fact that you have contained it in one folder means that every one you deal with is one step closer to inbox zero.

Benefits of doing it this way:
A. E-mails can’t interrupt your work. OK, you might keep checking for new arrivals, but there’s a wonderful feeling of relief when you ‘let go’ of an e-mail and realise you don’t have to answer it until tomorrow.
B. Answering e-mails in batches is more efficient.
C. You’ll write better replies when you’re less stressed by e-mails.
D. By not answering e-mails immediately, you train your correspondents not to expect an immediate response. If it’s that urgent, they should really be ringing you, not sending an e-mail.

I went into this in more detail in a guest post for Business of Design Online: http://www.businessofdesignonline.com/time-management-put-off/

And Mark Forster writes a good blog here: ttp://www.markforster.net/blog
Linda R. Moore

Jan 29 08, 11:47 am PDT

31
I use these techniques:

(1) I check email once in the morning and, sometimes, once at night.

(2) I set a timer for 30 minutes and tackle email during the hour.

(3) I make a conscious effort not to leave things “for later.” The only things that wait for later are personal emails from friends and family where I don’t rush them. The others, mostly holding a to-do point for a simple action, get done, filed or deleted.
Nick

Jan 29 08, 1:20 pm PDT

32
Great article. I love 4 hour work week. And I have a big e-mail/facebook/blogs/myspace/anythingthatwastetimeontheinternet problem. I think that this is a psychology topic called flow…basically it is something that makes time go really fast. Like if you play video games or are really into your work.

I do not know that I will be stopping this habit anytime soon, although I do have my days. Sometimes I really dislike checking my e-mail, like when I know that I will get e-mails and I do not want to deal with them. I think then I realize, “hey, i’m popular, I garentee there is an e-mail that I do not want to have to respond to right now in there.”

Good luck everyone.
Fatgadget

Jan 29 08, 2:13 pm PDT

33
Great Article, I just found you blog via your Problogger, very interesting :)
Simple Mindz

Jan 29 08, 3:28 pm PDT

34
I leave my email open all the time usually when I am home. I am addicted to it – that’s for sure! But I also have a BFF that lives in Australia, so he is working while I am home!
Caryn

Jan 29 08, 3:56 pm PDT

35
I definitely have an e-mail addiction. I love to get it, although I’m not very good at responding to it. In order to get any work done, I often unplug my wireless modem. When I am tempted to check my e-mail (or favorite blogs or a social networking site or…) then I have to put my laptop down, get up, go into the room that has the modem, plug it in, and wait for the connection to fire up. By that time I’ve usually talked myself into getting back to work instead. This trick also keeps me from checking out my blog stats yet again.
vineet nair

Jan 29 08, 5:26 pm PDT

36
Hi tina,

I like yourblog. Came here from your post on problogger.
wish you all the best..

Are you using wordpress too?
Do you handle the technology aspect yourself or did you get some help?

Your blog is just like the url – simple.
:)

Vineet

***************

REPLY:

Hi Vineet, Thanks for visiting. Yes, I am using wordpress. I handle the technology aspect for my blog.
Thanks again for your kind words. :)

Warmly,
Tina
gregory
Jan 29 08, 7:15 pm PDT

37
if you were psychic, telepathic, had good esp, this problem would not exist. it is natural for the mind to range freely through the universe, while busy doing whatever is in front of one. it is the use of the cumbersome crutch of technology that is the problem, not the underlying impulse.

don’t beat yourself up about what is natural, and don’t see it as an addiction.

if you want to use your time in a better way, simply use your time in a better way.

there is a universe in the simple thing in front of you too!
vineet nair

Jan 29 08, 8:42 pm PDT

38
Hi tina,
Good to hear from you.
Your Technical savvy and very creative and concise writing style is a very good combination.
Do visit my blog if u get a chance and give some feedback..

Thnx
Vineet
S.P. Gass

Jan 29 08, 10:07 pm PDT

39
An interesting article. I just featured a story on my blog about hi-tech addiction: http://lowtechtimes.com/2008/01/28/hi-tech-addictions-can-ruin-relationships/
Maria

Jan 29 08, 10:32 pm PDT

40
Hi Tina.

I don’t have email addiction (perhaps I’ve had it so long now it’s not new enough?) but I think blog addiction is equally bad! Keep checking those stats! And I don’t even write my own blog posts – they are generated by a computer program.

Loved your article on problogger! I left a comment there too.

Maria
Naomi

Jan 30 08, 1:43 am PDT

41
Ahh – I sympathise. Still, could be worse. You might suffer from television addiction – far less productive.
Sangesh

Jan 30 08, 5:46 am PDT

42
Hello Tina,

I found your article @ problogger. It is a very inspiring article. This article is also not an exception. You’re a very good writer I must say.

Good luck to you.

Chill.
The Hunter's Wife

Jan 30 08, 7:08 am PDT

43
Hi Tina,

I came from your post from problogger. Great article there and articles here. I am new to blogging as well starting just 4 months ago with no experience.

As far as my email, that is the first thing I check in the morning and always respond. It is done and over with and I feel good about it. I may check again early afternoon and evening just in case something important comes about that needs an immediate response.

My addiction is blogging. I just can’t get enough of it. I read about everything from techie sites, to mommy blogs, to outdoor blogs.

Great blog and thanks for your tips.
Connie Ragen Green

Jan 30 08, 7:13 am PDT

44
I do not check email until two hours after I get up in the morning. That gives me time to post on my blogs, write and submit an article, and reflect on my day. Then I check my email and only read the ones I need and want to read. This has given me more time and energy for the things that are important to me. No more interruptions in the morning!
CurlyBrace

Jan 30 08, 9:49 am PDT

45
Hi,

I also knew about your blog from Digg and now from Problogger. Nice blog and keep up the good work! :)

I’m not *that* addict, and replying emails is part of my job since I’m making customer support for my own products – anyway, the GmailThis plugin tip was really nice. Just installed it and it works like a charm.

Also, I think one suggestion made by another blogger (forgot who), that was about delaying replies (for example, I reply now but the reply leaves 3 hours later) would be nice, so that the re-reply from the other party takes more to arrive and you won’t be exchanging emails like it was a chat room (Gmail’s fault I guess).
CjA
Jan 30 08, 12:15 pm PDT

46
Do you have any more resources on this topic? Thanks!

Fear of Failure or Change – As we are working towards a personal or collective goal, the future is often unknown and requires that we change our otherwise comfortable lives. Despite this change often resulting in a better life situation for us, our ego resists this. It injects fear in our inner space, and we start to unconsciously and secretly welcome distractions that take our attention away from our tasks. This is why we sometimes find it difficult to do contribute action towards a cause that will improve the quality of our lives. Email is just one channel of such a distraction to delay action.
Steven Barchetti

Jan 30 08, 1:47 pm PDT

47
Well Its official, I am your newest fan!!

I am finding a lot of useful info on your blog and time management is a big one!

I am new to blogging and I will try to do like you, bring useful timely articles to my readers!

Props to you, I love what you have accomplished and I look forward to adding value!

Steven Barchetti

Las Vegas NV
Jim Murdoch

Jan 30 08, 2:26 pm PDT

48
Hi Tina, a very inspiring blog. I got some great tips from your article on how you attracted a lot of subscribers. A good choice of books too. I like your positive outlook. Maybe you could use a positive statement to help you with your email distraction, like: I am so grateful to get the important things done first and can then enjoy my emails and blogs”.

All the best,
Jim
Sayuri Jane

Jan 30 08, 3:02 pm PDT

49
I feel like you are talking about me. When it came to email, I checked and rechecked daily. Recently, I realized what a waste it was. So, I put up a toolbar that notifies me everytime i get mail. But the rule that helps me is that I can only check my inbox when it says 10 =) Hopefully, I can work my way up to 20, then 50.
Glen L Graham

Jan 30 08, 8:41 pm PDT

50
It is really hard for me to stay off line because I am a freelance web-designer and the internet is my home. I know I have a problem
I am seriously trying to be better at not being a slave to my impulses.
I needed to read this article thanks for the advice.
Stephen Hopson/Adversity University

Jan 31 08, 5:34 am PDT

51
Tina:

You did it again with another great, useful article! I’m most definitely an emailaholic, checking emails a million times a day. It’s so darn addictive. I’ve mentioned this article in my weekly gratitude post, grateful I found an article to help me battle this horrendous disease.

I liked how you admitted that you were one yourself and then you told us not only how to deal with it but also why it probably happens. We all want to be loved, showered with attention. We eagerly await good news. Email is actually my gateway to the rest of the world for I almost never use the phone.

Why? Because I’m deaf. While I have excellent speaking capabilities (I’m a motivational speaker by profession) and can speak on the phone, I have to use a special relay service who types in what the other party is saying. It’s time consuming and cumbersome. I find it much easier to communicate by email. Thus my addiction!

I am posting the link-love tonight (Thursday night).
ntas

Jan 31 08, 6:09 am PDT

52
great article tina..the “symptoms” talked about feels like me. cant live without emails..its the first thing i do whenever i get on my computer. . sometines its counter productive to my work..been trying to cut it out hope your article helps..also I first checked out the inspiring piece you wrote on Problogger..it drove me here. keep up the good work.
Vica

Jan 31 08, 7:47 am PDT

53
I got here through someone that shared one of your posts in Google Reader and I’m loving your blog. I’ve got some serious e-mail addiction and I’ve been trying to get hid of it (specially after my boss talked to me about it), I’ll read this post again at home and try to apply your tips.
Lisa Angelettie

Jan 31 08, 7:48 am PDT

54
Good grief – I have been struggling with this for years. And as my business grows – it only gets worse. If I start writing when I sit down at the computer before I check my email – I get anxious. So this article really hit home for me. It’s well done. *But just a little side note, email junkies are typically a little controlling and would probably never outsource it. Your other time-management ideas are more realistic. Also, I love the use of the comment-relish plugin. I installed it and will see how it works. I found you on problogger – and am really impressed with the growth of your blog.

Much Success!
Joe Nassise

Jan 31 08, 1:01 pm PDT

55
Interesting article and great suggestions. Thanks for the GmailThis info – I’d never heard of it but it looks very useful.
Oscar

Feb 01 08, 12:13 pm PDT

56
Hi Tina! Good post. It happens to me as well I have some rules, only two-three times a day, but after reading your post I see I was watching my email more times: my professional email, my personal, my blog, my trade account, the news… and then “Time is gone” For instance answering 25 emails x 5 minutes means “More than two hours!”, if you do it in several times you are getting out of focus many times and you lost your way.

Productivity is science and it is also important to check your method often.

Thanks. See you ;-)
Dobbs

Feb 01 08, 7:51 pm PDT

57
G’day from Down Under. Like others here I came to this site from Pro-blogger and this is a great site.

What I hate the most about my work e-mail is when someone sends you an e-mail and they are just down the hall and are to lazy to get up and tell you something or even pick up the phone. I started telling people I will only check email first thing in the morning and before I leave work and the amount of e-mails decreased dramatically.

Likewise my productivity during the day increased as well.
Todd Schafer

Feb 03 08, 9:38 pm PDT

58
Dear Tina:
Regarding the outsourcing, how long will it be before Adam starts to become “Tina.”?
One of the downsides to increasing popularity, eh?
Nice problem to have!
Liara Covert

Feb 04 08, 7:50 pm PDT

59
This is a very enlightening article. Its amazing how we develop habits unconsciously without being consciously aware of the underlying reasons for our behaviour. To learn why we reflexively do things enables us to deal with insecurities and opt to spend time differently.
Mario Sanchez

Feb 05 08, 6:48 am PDT

60
Tina:

I feel your pain.

What works best for me is this little tip: go to the upper menu, click “File” and check “Work Offline”. That accomplishes two things:

1) You won’t be constantly interrupted by new email coming in, and

2) The emails you send will go to an Outbox instead of being sent immediately. This has saved me many times when I’ve written an angry email in the spur of the moment, since I’ve been able to either erase it or tone it down later after having a change of heart. This is also a time saver because angry emails usually trigger a chain of responses that you will be forced to answer.
jd

Feb 08 08, 12:07 am PDT

61
Tina – I’ve created a slide deck, “The Zen of Zero Mail,” to share the practices I use to improve email habits for my colleagues.
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2008/01/14/the-zen-of-zero-mail.aspx
Enjoy!
Elizabeth Potts Weinstein

Feb 11 08, 7:28 pm PDT

62
I’ve been using RescueMe, currently in beta, to keep track of all my time and how it’s spent. It’s a little program that keeps track of all the software programs & websites I’m on during the day, and let’s me tag each one, so I can see how many minutes I spent on email or networking or blogging.

The best part is that I can set “alerts” or “goals” for certain areas. I have it set up so whenever I spend more than 1 hour a day on email the program sends a text message to my iPhone that I’m over my limit.

I had no idea that I’m spending over 20% of my time on email (thought I was much less than that, since I’ve been 4HWW etc.).

Elizabeth
John J

Feb 12 08, 12:49 am PDT

63
I have reduced my e-mail subscriptions It takes nothing but time. Most of it wasted time.
Thibaut Barrère

Feb 14 08, 3:17 pm PDT

64
Hello Tina,

thanks for your inspiring writings!

I wrote a NonViolent Communication follow-up here:

http://evolvingworker.com/2008/2/14/4-steps-to-overcome-your-online-addictions

best,

– Thibaut
Madiator

Feb 14 08, 7:44 pm PDT

65
Thanks for this wonderful post.
And hello Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, can you please give me a link from where I can download this RescueMe software. Googling has been of no use! By the way are you talking about RescueTime?
Thanks
thegreenlantern
Feb 23 08, 7:15 pm PDT

66
Regarding replying, I agree with not putting off a reply when first opening a mail. However, the most overlooked button in email apps is SAVE DRAFT (google SAVE) . Not sending straight away takes pressure off your composition and frees your writing style. Your drafts are automatically foldered waiting for you to hit the SEND during your next scheduled email session, the digestion time will improve even the simplest emails and often allows you to reconsider and avoid many gaffs. After trying this, if you find yourself aborting many unnecessary messages in the review, you know you had been an addict.
Thibaut Barrère

Feb 25 08, 12:01 am PDT

67
If it hasn’t been cited already, here’s a tool I just discovered to monitor and restrict your surfing:

8aweek

What do you think about it ?

cheers
Liara Covert

Mar 18 08, 3:27 pm PDT

68
The more I think about this post, the more I believe we could think about our choices of activities in a more positive way. Rather than assume something is wrong with what we do, we could our choice as an an opportunity to evolve away from the temptation to judge and criticize. Evolution invites you to shift your thinking to realize everything we do is sending us meaningful messages. Why not learn to love your energy, your enthusiasm and see yourself in different kinds of positive light?
Mohit

Mar 28 08, 3:30 pm PDT

69
Another solution is to have more interesting non-email tasks to keep you engaged. Like the person that constantly clicks between TV channels, you have to be bored to get around to checking emails frequently. If I’m fascinated by another activity, email becomes more of a drag. If I’m bored and looking for a reason to avoid a task, email is that reason.

:)
fiona

Apr 13 08, 5:01 am PDT

70
Sometimes addiction is caused by the newness of the technology. But when we are used to it. The effect is lessen and things become ordinary.
Yuu

May 25 08, 10:30 pm PDT

71
I wanted to write a com.. hey, by the way, there seems to be an unread email in my inbox. I’d better check whether it’s spam.. I’ll be right back..
abaker

May 29 08, 12:54 am PDT

72
Hai Guest,

I am actually new to comment and my question is are you trying to take Addiction treatment and get recovery resources for you and your family? If you want to try, please use this site.

abaker
Obagi

Jun 03 08, 10:01 am PDT

73
I’m an e-mail addict to. Shifting between home computer, laptop, my Blackberry … I check my mail almost every minute or so when I have those tools near me. I’ve reduced me e-mail checking frequency to every 15 minutes now, still bad I know. I’ll try to use some of your tips … Thanks again for the good article.
–
komodo dragon

Jun 11 08, 1:48 pm PDT

74
indeed, there are several sufferers of this email crazed condition… i admit i all into the category, but all is well
Poems

Jun 16 08, 12:18 pm PDT

75
I am glad that not alone in my e-mail addiction. Why we cannot live without constant checking e-mails. Probably your tips will help to reduce or get rid of this addiction!
Tom Stine | Spiritual Life Coach

Aug 03 08, 12:39 pm PDT

76
Catching-up on the reading today, and I discovered this article in your feed. Great ideas! I’ve been using one method that really isn’t all that “useful” and that is hitting the delete key. A lot. I love email, too, because I love to communicate. But who has the time? I’ve also been unsubscribing to a lot of garbage I get.
Brad Semp

Dec 27 08, 10:39 pm PDT

77
Great article on one of the most under-recognized productivity drains within today’s business world. Whether you work in the corporate world or are a solo entrepreneur….it simply doesn’t matter….

Our studies have shown that over 90% of people are wasting productive time each day due to e-mail and many of these same people are literally addicted to e-mail.

Our program relies heavily on the “outsourcing of your e-mail” as you mentioned in one of your points. We’ve proven over and over again that once you realize that you have a problem, there’s a relatively simple yet effective solution to managing your e-mail.

EXAMPLE: I’ve personally reduced my e-mail time from 2 hours & 25 minutes per day to UNDER 20 minutes each day using
Shashi
Mar 25 09, 1:16 am PDT

78
Today, My manager gave kind of warning to me on my emails. I continued lot of mails which weren’t supposed to continue. I was arguing with my boss, I am not getting reply’s for my emails from the team.
You know every 5-10 minutes my eyes will look for outlook on my machine. I didn’t realize until reading this article on my problem, instead I used to complain my team why you are not sending me emails(responses). There are some occasions like speaking to the team to understand why they didn’t send me replies.

Ohhh. God…. I have gone MAD…!!!

I started searching yesterday, on Emailing-tips. While googling (I have good searching abilities, lol ) I come across various articles, which gave lot of tips (Thanks everyone!). But this article clearly brings out on my negative character.
Thanks Tina…!!! You saved my life! :)
dev
May 09 09, 9:18 am PDT

79
My will be make a wallpaper that contain the advice that u think and learn from other and make it ur own desktop wallpaper. it make easy to notice cause we always in front of computer.

or write down the advice and turn in to sometime that scold yourself to motivate yourself like “if u waste 30 minutes a day in reading email even though u know it will not has email in the next minutes, u wasting 2100 min a week where this 2100 minute u can use to learn some other thing, idiot”
?AK?HE?

May 30 09, 1:32 pm PDT

80
???????? ??????, ?? ? ??? ???? ? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????. ????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???????, ????? ? ???????? :)
Rebekah

Jun 05 09, 6:57 pm PDT

81
Great Article…especially the tips on Detox Days and Journaling. I highly recommend both! The Journal feature in Outlook is a great tool for figuring out where all your time is spent…but most people don’t even know it’s there or how to use it.

I also recommend getting off as many lists as you can stomache. If the world catches fire…trust me..you’ll hear it somewhere else first! If it’s not ESSENTIAL reading…Detach, Delete, Unsubscribe!
Valerie

Feb 13 10, 4:32 pm PDT

82
Well, I think for some of us there’s a more serious problem of real addiction, where you simply cannot stop. Like when you quit smoking and you’re grubbing around in the trash for cigarette ends to smoke. I know I have an addictive personality, and nearly 20 years ago I found ways of quitting both smoking and alcohol that worked for me, but of course the key there is total abstinence.
But with process addictions like email checking, how can you have total abstinence when email etc is an essential tool?
Maybe the word addiction has been watered down and is becoming more synonymous with obsessive or compulsive behaviour, but I’m using it in the hard-core sense where tips and tricks and time management techniques etc just don’t work because it’s the primitive brain that’s running the behaviour. The pleasure, anticipacion and reward circuits have got wired into a self-perpetuating feedback loop. Many people today are hooked on email and other online activities, but for those people who have hard-core addictive tendencies… what do we do?

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