Turning e-mail addiction into GTD discipline

Addiction — ... is an uncontrollable compulsion to repeat a behavior regardless of its consequences. 

I'm an e-mail addict, and odds are so are you. I don't like admitting this ugly fact, but the time is come to deal with this problem because it's crippling my productivity.  If you think addict is too strong a term to use, just how long has it been since you checked e-mail?  Do you remember doing it?  Did you even think about it before you check e-mail? 

Welcome to my world.

Know your disease

Whether it's this post on why e-mail is so addictive, or this study, or all the responses Debbie Weil got when she admitted her addiction to e-mail, there is no two ways about it: email checking can become an addiction.

Variable interval reinforcement is a nasty little psychological quirk well known to advertisers, psychologists, and successful computer game makers. The bottom line: because you are sometimes rewarded checking e-mail become a compulsive habit.

Some could argue that calling frequently checking email even at the cost of productivity isn't a "addiction" and that technophobes are yet again finding some nonexistent issue with using PCs, but let's face it: if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

What you can do about it

The question is -- for me and you -- how do you get this monkey off your back? Here are a several methods that I think might work:

• Make the habit conscious. I find that if I have Outlook open continuously I will flip back and forth to it without a single thought.  So don't. Keep Outlook closed until you explicitly and consciously decide to check your e-mail.
• Reward good behavior. I'm writing down when I plan to check e-mail today on a 3 x 5 card. If I can stick to the card today through Thursday, I'm rewarding myself with one new mystery hardcover book on Amazon.  Obviously, this could get out of hand, but it's a start.
• Beat the urge. Every time I get the urge check e-mail, I'm going to try to do a two minute GTD drill I've come up with: "capture, clarify, complete and win". By asking myself what I have not captured into my GTD system, what "task" comes to mind which is actually a remorseless blob instead of headed by a tangible next action, by thinking about what tangible next action I should actually next take I hope to turn this this productivity-sucking compulsion into improving what I get done, with less stress.
  

If you have any suggestions to contribute to dealing with email addiction, post a comment here - and I'll report back in a week on how these three approaches work out.

Comments

[Seth]

Hi, my name is Seth and I'm an email addict. GEEZ! As another relatively unproductive week draws to a close and the deadline for our new release looms ever closer, I appreciate this slap in the face. Count me in. Normally I start my day with my email, and next thing I know the day is over. I'm gonna try postponing my first mail check until after lunch. With luck I'll get focused on my tasks and forget to check it altogether!

Good call!

[Bob Walsh]

I just thought of a better reward system, at least for me: iTunes! Every time I check email as per my plan for the day, I can buy a song for 99 cents every day. We'll see how it works...