Are You Addicted to Email?

Why are you addicted to email? Don't worry, you're not alone. Studies show that trying to reach inbox zero is actually a thing. Unfortunately, the satisfaction derived from emptying out your inbox on a daily basis may never happen thanks to today's modern society where everyone uses email to send quick communications. Luckily, there are some things you can do to fight this problem.

Psychological Context

According to Time magazine, becoming addicted to email has a similar effect to pulling a lever on a slot machine. You have the possibility winning some extra coins in the slot below, but you might also have the disappointment of coming up empty. Messages in your inbox are the same way. Your might receive a positive message, such as "Good job on the Smith project!" or you might see that your boss wants you to stay an hour later today even though you already have plans.

Both messages sit there in your inbox, but your attitude toward reading them is different. You might read the positive messages first so you can be uplifted. On the other hand, maybe you want to get the bad news out of the way first. Either way, this process gets your brain addicted to email because you would rather refresh your inbox over and over again while anticipating the positive messages even though you might receive negative ones.

Reciprocity

The concept of reciprocity comes into context when you face this affliction of so many emails and too little time. You feel socially obligated to respond to every email that someone took the time to write to you. You feel as if you cannot ignore the people who wrote to you asking for information or needing your attention. Plus, it feels good to respond because you feel as if you fulfilled your duty to the other person. When your brain becomes addicted to email, it associates positive or negative feelings with the experience as you attempt to complete a social contract, even if the other person initiated some kind of negativity from the original correspondence.

Email Is Everywhere

People addicted to email are everywhere simply because email is the preferred method of quick communication at the office. Employees spend around one-third of their work day responding to and writing email messages. Imagine what would happen to productivity if that number changed? Email alerts people to meetings, changes in policy, when customers contact a sales team, when human resources receives a cover letter from a job candidate and when the boss's flight leaves tomorrow.

How do employees handle the stress of email after email?

Trying to Reach Inbox Zero

The holy grail of your email is reaching zero messages within your inbox. That means you have successfully dealt with every issue that entered into your virtual frame of reference. No matter how hard you try, you never completely empty your inbox. The key is to prioritize which messages truly matter and ignore the rest. Respond to what's most important first, and relax about the rest.

People are addicted to email due to its prevalence in society, but there are ways to deal with this problem. Basically, all you have to do is let it go. You don't have to respond to everything.

Photo courtesy of Master isolated images at FreeDigitalPhotos.net