We all need an email break. We check email when we wake up in the morning, 50 times during the day and again at night. We check email during dinner, while on vacation with family, in an airplane, while sitting in a taxi, and oftentimes even while driving, we check email all…of…the…time. In this episode of the Future in 5 I talk about some of the reasons why we have become addicted to email, and share some of the tips and techniques I use to avoid relying so heavily on email.

I believe we live in a world right now where technology controls us. But, we have to remember technology is supposed to make our lives easier. We do not exist to use technology technology exists to serve us. As someone who runs his own business, it is important for me to be able to respond to communication quickly, so sometimes it’s very hard for me to not check email. However, I’ve noticed that when I purposely don’t check email or for whatever reason, something interesting happens… the world is still there when I get back to my precious email! And, as corny as it may seem, it feels like more opportunities come my way — as they say, “a watched pot never boils.” We need to acknowledge that it is “ok” to respond to email in three-, four-, or five hours. I think we’ll all be pleasantly surprised that we will be more productive, more engaged, more energized… and the world will not end.

Join me as I experiment to find ways to break the email addiction. So listen in and don’t forget to share your tips and strategies!

Jacob Morgan is a keynote speaker, author (most recently of The Future of Work), and futurist. You can get the first 30 pages of his book for free as well as weekly content on the future of work by subscribing to his newsletter.