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Chronic Procrastination and the Cost of the "Ding!"
Merlin Mann | Jul 21 2008
Guadian UK: Hi-tech is turning us all into time-wasters (via Rich Siegel) A few weeks ago, I pointed you to a startling stat in the New York Times stating that 28% of the average worker's day gets blown on unnecessary interruptions -- helping contribute to a crisis that a company like Intel now considers a $1 billion per year problem. From yesterday's Guardian comes more numbers on the growing cost of distraction:
Of course, as the Inbox Zero guy, I think a real eye-opener sneaks in with this passing note about the cost of all those noisy email notifications you created:
Although the headline wants to point the blame squarely at "hi-tech," the last graf talks about your brain's own role in how that nasty new technology is allowed to be abused:
Do yourself (and your company) a favor this morning: try just briefly shutting off the "Ding!" and give yourself authority to schedule your next email dash. Just for one morning, see if you can't get a bit more actual work done if you're not mentally scanning for sabre-tooths. 10 Comments
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About MerlinBio Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who created the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today, Back to Work, and Kung Fu Grippe. Also? He’s writing this book, he lives with this face, he suffers from this hair, he answers these questions, and he’s had this life. So far. Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written in the past few years is an essay entitled, “Cranking.” |
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