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Email Addiction – ways to cure it

Last week’s UK launch of Clean Out Your Inbox Week seems to have been a great success.  I am still sorting through all the emails, tweets and other messages.  So please bear with me and a summary will be available at the end of the week.

The launch of our new Email Addiction self-assessment tool seemed to hit a hot spot.  One of the problems with this sort of addiction is that there are no drugs to treat the affliction.  It all has to be driven by personal behavioural change and from within yourself.  As Susan Maushart’s book The Winter of Out Disconnect shows you might also find another you and another hidden skills set.

Here are five ways to start gently curing the curse of this modern day drain on productivity.

1. Set yourself some specific email free time (eg from 30 minutes to two hours).
2. Reward yourself handsomely when you reach the goal time.
3. Fine yourself if you take a peak in between and make the fine psychologically painful.
4. Tell people what you are doing and enlist their help.
5. Provide an incentive for them to contact you by alternative ways (eg talk to you).

More tips and  hints on Twitter this week.

Tags: email addiction, email overload

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