The Tyranny of Email

I caught about 10 minutes of NPR today. Author John Freeman was on the Diane Rehm show. Freeman was talking about his latest book, “The Tyranny of Email: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox“. I have not read the book nor did I catch enough of the interview to comprehend the author’s point of view. However, Rehm offered a statistic that I think is remarkable: employees spend 40% of their work day dealing with emails.

I did catch a couple of points from Freeman as “alternatives” to email that I find interesting:

• write letters, postcards, etc.
• pick up the phone and call people
• set up face to face meetings

I’ll admit my self-perpetuated reliance on email. I’ve noticed when I send fewer emails, I have fewer to respond to. While we can’t completely eliminate emails, CQ will be evaluating our communications and will incorporate “old school” communications more.