A World Without Email

Knowledge workers can sift through as many as 126 emails per day and this deluge impairs their ability to do their jobs, argues computer science professor Cal Newport. His thesis is that email not only makes people less productive, it makes them miserable. Drawing from neuroscience studies, evolutionary psychology and real-world case studies, Newport urges a conscious shift from the “hyperactive hive mind” to a more sustainable, minimalist mind-set.

Productivity

The incessant flow of emails to and from knowledge workers’ inboxes reduces productivity while forcing their brains to process irrelevant information. Email complicates conversations by involving too many people and inundating workers with redundant messages.