Global Briefing: Jul. 1, 2002

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Drowning in E-Mail? Read This

Most people blame idle friends and spammers for the junk that clogs their e-mail In boxes. But productivity expert Mark Ellwood says we all contribute to the problem. Ellwood is the author of Cut the Glut of E-Mail, a slim volume of practical tips on how to "take responsibility" for excessive e-mailing and "find more time for the things that count." Some of his suggestions--use the phone instead and institute a No E-Mail Day--are blindingly obvious. But Ellwood is also effective at challenging the utility of beloved functions like the autoresponder (it notifies senders that you're out of the office, but becomes chain mail if you're on a mailing list) and the reply-all function. (Bosses are interested in results, not all the correspondence it took you to get there, he writes.) You don't have to respond to every acknowledgment or thank-you note. Oh, and before you forward a virus warning to everyone you know, Ellwood advises, check with your system administrator to see whether it's a hoax.