Email in small does is productivity enhancing but in large doses it is not productivity enhancing and can even slow down productivity. You don’t even notice because you’re just busy getting those little drops of dopamine. There’s a disconnect between the perceived reward and actual reward.
We live in a world of interruptions from email, PDAs, cellphones, computers and so on. What are the big challenges to brain performance with all this gadgetry?
One problem with these interruptions is they’re rewarding us the way a social interaction is rewarding. It’s thought that whenever a small rewarding event happens, our brains release little bit of dopamine, which is a signal that something interesting is happening. Email is a social reward that’s distilled into this thing that pops onto your screen. It’s quite literally a little bit like crack. As a result, there’s sort of this addictive quality to email. One piece of advice that I’ve been toying with is to use email as a reward for finishing a task, as opposed to letting it sit on your desk all the time.
You think, I’ll work on this report for two hours and my reward will be to open my inbox?
That’s right. Despite the fact that you may not think of your inbox as rewarding, let’s face it: there’s things in there that are rewarding.
You’re a neuroscientist. How do you protect your productive time?
My work often involves sustained attention like writing or looking at data to analyze. One thing I try to do is get away from my office and go to places where I have the information I need but have difficulty getting to things like email or telephone. When I put barriers between me and those things, that seems to help. Using email for reward is also very helpful. It's my little bit of chocolate that comes at the end.
Do you have any advice for your new president as he surrenders his BlackBerry?
Wow, I get to make up advice for the president? My main advice is if he really can’t kick email, to use it as a reward. After a long day of negotiations with Russia or Iran, he can allow himself a little bit of email afterwards.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 5 Total
November 29, 2008 at 8:18pm by south hollywood
Here is something to email to your blackberry....
this is a dumb article and waste of my time.
Tell us something we dont know already.
November 29, 2008 at 11:43pm by Robert Klein
I agree, spending less time on email creates more efficiency; however it is a delicate balance. When I wake up in the morning I reach for my company issued BlackBerry so I can read my emails scanning for my latest action items and attempting to decipher code. Typically these action items are from the outside (prospects, customers, distributors) since our company uses an internal workflow solution - Exact Synergy. Many times I feel that I am constantly plugged in, do you remember the movie - The Matrix? Do I need to be unplugged? When I am plugged in, I find that many emails are in code anyways leaving me guessing when the sender expects a reply. Perhaps I should answer the email when I feel like getting around to it! Besides most of the emails that I receive do not convey a priority nor a need by date, so why do I feel so compelled to answer them immediately. After all of my analysis and my self-prognosis I can say that am addicted to my BB. In fact, I cannot wait to get the BB Storm!
February 8, 2009 at 8:34pm by jojo hemp
KK,
esta GG.
email me peaceshooter@usa.com