The High Cost of “Free” Email
Richard Fast
Creator MindTrap Games | Author | Speaker | Helping People Learn How to Make the "Right" Decision When it REALLY Matters | richardfast.com
If you asked most people how much it costs to send an email, they’d probably think you’re joking, but email comes with a price – in fact, a hefty price.
What Is the Actual Cost of Sending a Single Email?
Determining an exact cost is impossible because there are as many qualifiers and quantifiers as emails sent. But let’s see if we can get a sense of some cost… so that we will forever eliminate any notions that email is free.
We know that email can be an instrumental cause of stress and anxiety, so there’s definitely a health cost associated with it, but as far as fixing an “accurate” number based on a sound scientific study… not likely.
But let’s not forget that just because we can’t affix a “hard number,” it doesn’t reduce email’s liability.
Since no one can argue with the statement that “time is money,” we can begin by agreeing that the cost of email is a combination of money and time.
What is the Effect of Email on Our Time?
According to the Radicati Group, the average knowledge worker sends and receives about 200 emails a day. Let’s be conservative and cut that in half.?
We’ll assume 50 emails are received, and half of those are either spam or information only. That leaves 25 emails requiring a response. Let’s say that every response takes five minutes.
Research further shows that it takes 64 seconds to recover from an email interruption, provided that nothing has been done beyond noting its arrival in our inbox. (1, 2)
Of these 25 non-response emails, 15 are spam, and 10 are low information FYI’s or otherwise unnecessary. Using the above assumptions, we can calculate the amount of time spent on email as follows:
Necessary Emails
Unnecessary Emails
Total = 62 minutes
Since one hour a day (62 minutes) is wasted on unnecessary emails (5+30+27), your hourly wage divided by 25 (15+10) comes close to the cost of each non-essential email you receive.
Most people couldn’t imagine doing away with email, especially since much of it can be purposeful and efficient. However, the hours wasted are another matter. Low-priority and irrelevant email not only impairs our efficiency but also dampens our motivation and heightens our levels of stress and anxiety.
Email Ping-Pong
By its very nature, a conversation is?synchronous?– meaning it takes two people to make it work. Email, on the other hand, is?asynchronous,?meaning it doesn’t require the presence of two people to work.?
When we mix these up, big problems and lots of wasted time begin to happen. For example, consider the following dialogue:
Russ:?Hey Jill, do you have a copy of the latest sales report Sam wrote?
Jill:?You have it. I put it on your desk this morning.
Russ:?You did? Where?
Jill:?It’s right next to your printer.
Russ:?Where? I don’t see it.
Jill:?Oh, sorry. I put it on top of your credenza. It’s the red file folder.
Russ:?Got it. Thanks.
A?normal conversation, right? It should be… but it’s not!?
It’s an exchange of emails between two co-workers who sit a few cubicles apart. This “thing” started off innocently enough, but before Russ or Jill realized it, one email led to the next, which led to the next, and in retrospect, it got completely out of hand.
If we account for the train of broken thought with each email sent, plus the time it would take for Russ and Jill to refocus on their present tasks – not to mention the overall time between the initial email and the actual location of the file – what started out as a possible one-cycle exchange (one question and one reply) turned into a black hole of wasted time and effort.
Or consider this everyday occurrence:
You’re planning your schedule and realize that you need to meet with Mary, a member of your project team who works at another company branch across town.?
You fire off a “quick” email to arrange a meeting;
Bill:?Hey Mary, are you free for about a half hour later this week?
Mary:?Sure, what time did you have in mind?
Bill:?How about Thursday morning or Friday afternoon?
Mary:?Sorry, neither works. I’m free Thursday after 1:00 or any time Friday morning.
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Bill:?Okay, how about next week? What works for you?
Mary:?Anytime Tuesday or Wednesday.
In both of these examples (the one directly above and the one with Russ and Jill), the intent was well-meaning. The originator was probably under the impression it would be a one-cycle exchange or, at worst, one-and-a-half.?
For example, they probably envisioned this:
Russ:?Hey Jill, do you have a copy of the latest sales report Sam wrote?
Jill:?It’s on your credenza.
OR
Bill:?Hey Mary, are you free for about a half hour later this week?
Mary:?Yes, anytime on Friday afternoon.
Bill:?Okay, I’ll be at your office at 2:30.
But as we saw, that’s not what happened. A one-volley email turned into a cluster of supplementary emails and wasted time.
How Could These Situations Have Been Better Handled?
In the first case, when you’re only a few cubicles away, get up and walk over. After all, we’re talking about a physical file folder, so somebody will have to move.
The problems created by email are caused by the sender but borne by the recipient.
Although it may only take 20 seconds to write and send the email, it’ll take the receiver a couple of minutes to open your message, read it, respond to it, and then refocus on the task at hand.?
If your interruption was the only one of the day, it’s inconsequential. However, multiplying these kinds of unnecessary interruptions by 25 (15 spam + 10 unnecessary) becomes highly problematic and extraordinarily expensive.
The email from Bill to Mary was thoughtlessly written. Instead of asking an open-ended question like “Are you free for about a half-hour later this week?” it should have been written with full awareness that sloppy communication results in wasted time and unnecessary emails.?
It should have been written so that it can’t balloon into email Ping-Pong. For example:
Bill:?Hey Mary, are you free for a meeting later this week? I’m available Thursday morning at 10:00 or anytime Friday afternoon. If neither of these works for you, can you give me a quick call, and we’ll figure out what will work best for each of us?
In the above example, Bill thoughtfully created an email request that had no chance of spiralling into email Ping-Pong. It either concluded with a one-cycle exchange or became a quick telephone conversation.
Email Is An Invaluable Tool, Provided We Know How to Use It
It’s not about restricting email; it’s about using it in the right way to communicate as effectively as possible.?
When It Comes to Email, Less Is More!
Email begets email. If you send less, you’ll soon begin to receive less. Email has a compounding effect, one way or another.
Email may be many things, but it’s not free. Every email sent bears a cost. If it’s well phrased, appropriate, and relevant, email is the most cost-effective medium.?
If it’s unnecessary, poorly written, or inappropriate, consider the fallout:?
The receiver is saddled with the task of opening, reading, disposing of and reacting, all for naught.
Unnecessary emails are like a dripping faucet; they constantly fill our inboxes. One by one, day after day, they slowly, gradually drain us of our energy and enthusiasm.
In our frantic haste to stay ahead of everything, we reply to emails we haven’t thoroughly read, send inappropriate messages while we’re in a highly charged emotional state, or continuously badger each other with streams of pushed information and thoughtless requests.
‘If it’s out of my box, it’s no longer my problem’ – is an all-too-common thought process.
The world always mirrors our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. If you change what you send, you change what you receive.?
References
Mastering Email… to Reduce Stress and Maximize Your Health and Productivity (15 Part Series)