Tackling Communication Overload in the Always-On Workplace

The following is an excerpt from my FREE Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter. You can?access the full article in the?Newsletter Archives. And don't forget to?subscribe?so you receive the new edition every Monday morning.?

For this week’s Workplace Intelligence Insider Newsletter, I interviewed Cal Newport, an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University. Cal’s scholarship focuses on the theory of distributed systems, while his writing explores the intersections of culture and technology. He is the author of seven books, including?A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. These titles include multiple?New York Times?bestsellers and have been translated into over 40 languages. Cal is also a contributing writer for the?New Yorker?and the host of the?Deep Questions?podcast.

In our conversation, we discussed his latest book, A World Without Email. The book explores what so many of us intuitively feel: in this 24/7 world where we’re connected to each other at all hours, our boundaries have corroded and our way of working doesn’t quite function right. Cal uncovers the root problems with being always on and looks to new and more intelligent ways to collaborate. Here's a sneak peek at our discussion:

In your book, you describe the “hyperactive hive mind workflow.” Can you tell us more about this communication style and why it’s the norm in so many workplaces today??

I think of the hyperactive hive mind more as a style of collaboration rather than simply a method of communication. This workflow depends on ad hoc, unscheduled, back-and-forth messages, delivered through tools like email and instant messenger. When you need something, you simply shoot off a message, and in return you implicitly promise to monitor your inboxes assiduously so you can respond quickly when messages of this type arrive for you.

This style is now the norm for most knowledge workers, where interaction occurs in small chunks, fragmenting the other efforts that make up their day. Knowledge workers essentially have to partition their attention into two parallel tracks: one executing work tasks and the other managing an always-present, ongoing, and overloaded electronic conversation about these tasks.

Want to read the full article? You can access it in the?Workplace Intelligence Insider Archives. To receive the new edition every Monday morning,?subscribe?for free.

I ask Cal the following questions:

• What are the pros and cons of the “hyperactive hive mind workflow”?
• Why isn’t this the best approach, from a physiological standpoint?
• Why is it especially important for managers to reject the hyperactive hive mind workflow?
• How can people optimize their communication practices to be more productive and effective at work???
• What does a world without email look like? Are we happier in that world? More productive? More engaged?

Want to read the full article? You can access it in the?Workplace Intelligence Insider Archives. To receive the new edition every Monday morning,?subscribe?for free.

Be sure to join the conversation below, and let me know whether you think a world without email is possible.