I've been hearing a lot about companies asking their employees to refrain from using email one day each week. During these "email-free" days employers expect people to communicate with each other and clients the old-fashioned way — over the phone or in person. They claim the result has been workers who are less stressed out by overflowing email boxes and faster solutions to problems. I'm not sure I agree. I like email. I much rather communicate that way than by telephone. I find the phone a huge distraction. When the phone rings I feel compelled to answer it and then deal with whatever the caller is asking me to do immediately. It doesn't matter if I'm busy at the moment. Once the caller has my attention, he expects to hold onto it until I've done what he wants me to do. It wreaks havoc on my "to do list." Conversely, when someone sends me an email I can set it aside for later — when I'm done with what I'm working on. Or I can decide that it truly is a priority and I can place it at the top of my "to do" list. The point is, it's my choice. You may not agree with my feelings about email. Do you feel overwhelmed by your inbox or, like me, do you think email is essential to keeping your work day flowing smoothly? Weigh in with your opinion.

Poll: How Do You Feel About Email?

• Email takes up too much of my time and generally makes me feel overwhelmed.
• I much prefer email to phone calls.
• I don't want to have to interact with people at all, either through email or by phone.
• View Results

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