The following is a story of a fellow ezine subscriber, Joe, who had a terrible addiction to email. Not internet porn, or gambling, or even drugs – but email. Funny, huh? Not so funny to Joe. Read his story and then I’ll describe what Joe did to overcome this problem.
“My Addiction” by Joe P. It was a terrible thing this addiction. It haunted me every waking moment. I guess you might say I had a pretty boring life until this whole thing started. And I’m sure some people think it’s even a boring addiction to have. It is, I guess. A gambling addiction sounds much more glamorous. And it’s certainly taken more seriously.
But my addiction was serious too. It kept me glued to my computer every waking moment just waiting for that next ding of my inbox to let me know that an email was there waiting for me to read it.
I don’t know why I got so addicted. I guess I just kept thinking that something exciting was going to show up one day. But it never did. That didn’t stop me though. I’d sit in my office all day and I’d stop whatever I was doing every time I heard that stupid bell. Talk about a productivity crusher. I just couldn’t get anything done in a timely fashion. I’d start a project and stop every single time I heard that stupid ding. I just had to know what had arrived for me. And since I get over 100 emails per day – well you can figure out that I wasn’t able to focus on one task for very long before being alerted that another potentially exciting email was waiting just for me! Well, finally my addiction caught up with me. I was starting to get in trouble at work about being late for project deadlines. But I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I was working as hard as I knew how.
And then I talked to a friend of mine. You know her as the Wiz. I explained to her what was going on at work and after some serious discussion and questioning she helped me uncover my addiction. I vowed then and there to let it go immediately. But the monkey on my back was harder to shake than I thought. It took weeks for me to wean myself off of looking at my email inbox everytime the bell dinged. That bell had a Pavlovian impact on me. Each time I’d hear it I’d automatically reach for the mouse. So it took some time and discipline for me to break the habit. I had to force myself to check my emails only 5 times a day. Then three and now, finally, I check my email only twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And now I’m free of my addiction. I’m free of the ridiculous thought that something exciting was waiting in my mailbox for me. And I’m free to get my projects done in a timely fashion – and without reprimand for turning things in late. Submitted by Joe P.
So, guys. Did anything Joe say resonate with you? Joe’s story is an extreme case of a very common problem in today’s workplace: the inordinate amount of time spent checking and just generally messing around with email.
I’m sure the Wiz doesn’t have to preach to you about receiving personal emails at workright? I mean you all know that it’s a bad idea. Especially when Biff, your college fraternity brother sends you some joke of the day that triggers your company’s porn filter! Not a good thing for your career, my friend. But enough about that. Let’s talk about spending time with legitimate emails. Like Joe, I’m sure you get tons of emails each and every day. But, like Joe do you over-check your email? Well, don’t!! It’s a total time waster! Check them a couple of times a day and focus on your work! Enough said. Now go out there and be a STAR!
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Molly Luffy, MBA, owner of Work Ethic Wizard, dedicated to helping managers regain their sanity and employees survive and thrive in todays corporation. Author of Super-Charge Your Promotion Quotient: 225 Success Strategies for the New Professional. http://www.workethicwizard.com/default.cfm
