Are You Addicted to E-Mail?

Source: AICPA CPA Insider  

Author Tim Ferriss recommends that you read your e-mail twice a day—once at noon, and again at 4 PM. Set an automatic reply that informs senders you will be attending to your e-mail at those times. Your automatic response can indicate that if the client would like to meet with you, he or she should make an appointment (indicate available time). The response can go on to say that if a meeting is not necessary, explain the issue in an e-mail. (Editor's note: An automatic response may come across as cold and impersonal if not written carefully.)

E-mail can be a costly distraction. London's Institute of Psychiatry gave IQ tests to three groups: The first was undistracted; the second was distracted by e-mail, phone calls, etc; and the third was under the influence of drugs. Group one scored the highest, group three was second, and group two – the group distracted by e-mail, etc. – was third.

From AICPA CPA Insider, August 6, 2007, www.cpa2biz.com. For the complete article, click here.