I recently read an article in a business magazine about three busy executives. The writer of the piece asked them how many e-mails they typically receive in a day. They said they average about 150. One hundred and fifty?! How does that qualify as busy? By lunch, I’ve usually received well over 200 e-mails. I’ve been averaging about 450. Some people I know get more. Recently, I had an e-mail epiphany. It was triggered when I missed two calls from my boss. And, consequently, a meeting. How did I miss them? It was the 11th e-mail syndrome. With my BlackBerry font set to eight, my screen displays 10 e-mails. But the e-mail from my boss was—thanks to Murphy’s Law—11th in the queue. Out of sight, out of mind. All this made me reflect on my e-mail management strategy. I didn’t have one. I wasn’t managing e-mail. E-mail was managing me.My inbox is cluttered with useless e-mail newsletters that I have subscribed to over the years but have never read. Then there are the strings that have nothing to do with me. I spend an average of 30 seconds on each piece of mail, or nearly four hours a day. That’s half of an average work day. Something had to be done.So I did it.I found the “unsubscribe” button on the majority of those newsletters and, like the “easy” button on those Staples commercials, I pushed it.I still get more e-mails than those “busy” execs, but now I am down to about 200 incoming. If I could just train myself to use the phone more, or start writing notes by hand, I know the quality of my life would improve. Write me a handwritten note if you have some thoughts on how to break the e-mail addiction: Gary Beach, CIO Magazine, 492 Old Connecticut Path, Framingham, MA 01701.I look forward to writing back to my new pen pals. Related content BrandPost Retail innovation playbook: Fast, economical transformation on Microsoft Cloud For retailers, tight integration of data and systems is the antidote to a challenging economy. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 3 mins Retail Industry Digital Transformation BrandPost How retailers are empowering business transformation with TCS and Microsoft Cloud AI-powered omnichannel integration and a strong, secure digital core lets retailers innovate across four primary areas while staying compliant, maintaining security and preventing fraud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 4 mins Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to Build ROI from Cloud Migration This whitepaper and webcast can help you calculate the ROI and create a business case for modernizing your legacy applications to the Microsoft Cloud. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Cloud Computing BrandPost How to power a sustainable enterprise on Microsoft Cloud In this eBook, we’ll follow the journey of Amal Skye, a fictitious woman who is committed to living in a way that preserves the planet for the future —and how businesses like Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft are making that possi By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 24, 2023 1 min Retail Industry Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe