I read an article in Inc. Magazine yesterday that addressed the cognitive overload being imposed on the lives of C Level executives by communication technologies. It referred to e-mail as the greatest culprit, so overwhelming that it has taken away from the time that used to be dedicated to thinking and creating in an uninterrupted environment.
Thinking back to when life was simpler, prior to my first cell phone, the only way people could communicate in business was via hard-wired phone, written letter or fax. You could actually get in your car or go home and use that time to be creative. Those three technologies seem to have lived their useful lives, only to be replaced by even more insidious inventions.
To see how I spend my time, I started checking at 7 a.m. to chronicle what interrupts my well-planned days. E-mails were stacked in my inbox from the night before. I had thee LinkedIn requests, three Facebook requests, two more people following on Twitter and had to update my blog and return 11 phone calls and 13 text messages to round out the morning.
My question for you today is, when do shut down and think? And which communication tools will be gone in this decade?
By the way, I am sending this message, parked in my car thinking, via the WiFi that is installed in my car. What will they think of next?
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group, San Diego-based coaching and peer advisory organization for high-level business executives.