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INBOX OVERLOAD IS TURNING US INTO PC POTATOES |
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Yahoo! Mail identifies tactics to reduce 59 working days a year spent tackling inboxes
New research from Yahoo! Mail reveals a new trend - Britons are becoming ‘PC potatoes’, glued to their inboxes in a bid to wade through hundreds of emails every day. The research found that emailers are three times more likely to be clearing their inbox than watching TV, with 90% of emailers spending up to two hours a day emailing and sorting out their inbox - the equivalent of 59 working days a year*.
The findings by Yahoo! Mail kick-start a campaign designed to help people manage their inboxes more efficiently, helping to prevent inbox overload from impacting on our work and personal lives. Over half of users admitted to feeling more tired, sluggish and not ‘at the top of their game’ because of the sheer volume of emails they receive on a daily basis.
Inbox overload is causing 25% of Britons to delete messages before reading them because they are so pushed for time. Nearly 30% of respondents also admit to missing either meetings, social gatherings or major family announcements because they’ve failed to read an email or reply to an email invitation.
To help solve this problem Yahoo! Mail has recruited top sports psychologist Louise Deeley to re-train PC Potatoes and help them improve their email performance. Louise recommends using the best equipment and getting into the mindset of a top athlete to tackle inboxes quickly and effectively. The problem isn’t just the amount of emails we are receiving – it’s also about how we deal with them.
Louise Deeley said: ‘Making simple changes to the way we tackle our inboxes, could turn us from being PC Potatoes into email champions. The psychological effect of facing a challenge, like sorting an obese inbox can be daunting. It’s not unusual for people to just switch off and become passive, but making small changes in their approach could make a real difference.’
‘A combined approach, both technical and psychological, can help to kick start these changes. For example, understand and learn a little about your inbox: 29% of those asked said that knowledge of features such as keyboard shortcuts would help master their inbox overload. In addition, adopting the right mindset, such as knowing your outcome, setting performance goals, being focused, and having a good night’s sleep could all lead to a healthier inbox.’
Isabelle Wies of Yahoo! Mail commented: 'It’s important to help email users understand how to manage their inbox more effectively. We’ve included new features within Yahoo! Mail such as drag and drop, tabbed navigation and keyboard shortcuts to allow our users to be quicker and smarter about their approach. After all, a healthy well ordered inbox means happier users.'
Don’t be a PC Potato, visit www.yahoo.co.uk/mailchampionships for more information on becoming an email champion.
This survey was based on a 50% representative sample of the UK online population (approx 13.6 million active individuals) survey sample n = 1,071 during August 2006.
*59 working days is equivalent to [(52 x 5) – 25] = 235 2 x 235 = 470 470 / 8 = 59 working days (based on ONS stats re average working hours per day and average days holiday a year)
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