Stop Letting Email Control(kənˈtrōl) Your Work Day

Stop Letting Email Control(kənˈtrōl) Your Work Day

By Paul A. Argenti

One of the very first lectures(ˈlekCHər) I give each year to new MBA students is about time management(ˈmanijmənt). By the time they arrive(əˈrīv) in my classroom, they are two days into the fall term, and I can already see that some of them are barely(ˈbe(ə)rlē) keeping their heads above water.

I see this lecture as both a reality(rēˈalətē) check and a breath(breTH) of fresh(freSH) air(e(ə)r). They will never get everything done, but they can get the important things done. Simply(ˈsimplē) giving them permission(pərˈmiSHən) to take control of their priorities(prīˈôrətē) — focusing on the “management” portion(ˈpôrSHən) of time management — seems to lift(lift) some of the tension(ˈtenSHən) from the room.

Email in particular(pə(r)ˈtikyələr) is a major(ˈmājər) contributor(kənˈtribyətər) to employees’ perceptions(pərˈsepSHən) of feeling stressed(stres) or overwhelmed(ˌōvərˈ(h)welm), according to a 2011 study(ˈstədē). In their research, the authors concluded(kənˈklo͞od) that the email inbox itself has become a symbol(ˈsimbəl) of stress and overload(lōd). Combine(ˈkämˌbīn) that with a 2012(twelv) McKinsey report that found employees spend approximately(əˈpräksəmətlē) 28%(pərˈsent) of their time in the office responding to, reading(ˈrēdiNG), or composing(kəmˈpōz) emails. The average(ˈav(ə)rij) person checks his or her email upwards of seventy times per day, and on the high end that number approaches(əˈprōCH) 350 times! Companies(ˈkəmpənē) need to pay attention. Employees who feel more control over their days are generally more satisfied(ˈsatisˌfīd) at work. And it should come as no surprise(sə(r)ˈprīz) that high levels(ˈlevəl) of stress, perceived(pərˈsēv) or otherwise(ˈəT͟Hərˌwīz), correlate with lower performance.

Clearly, we need to learn to make email work for us and re-frame(frām) it as a tool(to͞ol) for executing(ˈeksiˌkyo͞ot) on our priorities. But the first step is having clear priorities.