Battling the stress of email. “[Professor Gloria] Mark jokingly calls it the “zombie” paper because, like zombies, no matter how many times you delete e-mails they keep on coming.”
Email ‘vacations’ decrease stress, increase concentration
Wayne comments on Google+:
Email management is definitely a mindset one needs to train. I remember when I first used email more frequently at UCI, I did feel that pressure of the immediacy possible and often consequently expected with email. I had felt I needed to answer every email immediately and would check it regularly so as not to disappoint my contacts.
It wasn’t until later (much later) that I realized I need to focus on priorities and that email isn’t a ruling factor of my life. My emotional state (and heart rate 😉 ) became much more stable as a result.
That’s not to say emails aren’t a major part of my life. I still do a lot of work and activities through them. (Today in fact wasn’t as productive, work-wise, due to email access issues.) But I don’t let them rule my mood for the day. I don’t let them be the determining factor of my life.
In this digital age, I think we often forget that email isn’t the only way we can communicate with someone. 🙂 Nor is it the only lifeline between two people.