What will too many e-mails tell you?

Your colleague made a great discovery (or so he thought). He looked into the early history of the Internet, and found an interesting piece of information. He knew who invented e-mail. You weren't thrilled, as Monday was the first day of the week. After working in the same company for a year, you could tell that some weeks were longer than the others. And this would be one (of those weeks).

You thought about your colleague's discovery later that night. And memories of your previous job flashed through your head. It didn't put you into a nostalgic mood, but he had a point. Whoever thought of the e-mail didn't take a holiday.

It was a different case during your days at the English Department, when an e-mail allowed you to have a long-distance relationship. (Long story.) An e-mail from your tutor caused you dread, as it was hard to tell if was good or bad news. (It turned out to be good news most of the time.) And e-mail kept you in touch with your parents. (You didn't have time to call them on a number of occasions, but that would be another matter.) But the workplace changed the concept of e-mails.

These were the things your learned from your work experience:

Too many e-mails means you're too busy to be disturbed. You wondered which one in the office came up with a silly idea that a full inbox meant you were productive at work. It stressed you now and then. In fact, there was a time when you didn't check your Yahoo inbox for a week. There were too many tasks to do in the office, and you were too tired to do other things in your flat. (Your flatmates were disappointed that you didn't join them for a drink. You promised to make it up.) When you finally checked your inbox, you were annoyed to find out that more than half of them were spam. But a few ones were sent by your housemates. You missed them.

Problem in server might translate to fewer e-mails. There was a time (in your previous job) when you had problems with the server. Work was disrupted, but it wasn't a bummer. In fact, it was a chance to talk with your colleagues. They were cool. In fact, you would still keep in touch with them. But you would use Facebook. And you still have their number. On the other hand, you noticed that you spend more time in your other tasks. (It had nothing to do with the desktop computer.) You were saved by the server.

E-mail could be a powerful tool in the workplace. Studying literature for three years taught you to compose your e-mails in a polite manner. You read the contents carefully if the sender is no other than your boss. You don't want to be called incompetent.

You thought of inviting your colleague for a drink next Friday. Hopefully. he won't expound on the virtues of e-mail. He might be a zealous football fan. He may have bet on a team to win the UEFA Euro.