A benevolent dictatorship at worst

In a way, I was disappointed that John Freeman's THE TYRANNY OF E-MAIL failed to convince me of the dangers of e-mail, although I ultimately agreed with some of his points. Yes, the irregularity of e-mail can make it strangely addictive, and yes, it can be very distracting. But I wasn't sold on the case that those were the faults of the medium which therefore should be used sparingly. Perhaps Freeman's argument would have been more convincing had he not started with a history of mail from cuneiform tablets of empire to the postcard, which I was happy to learn was the last medium fated to ruin American literacy forever -- which is to say, when this section wasn't dry, it didn't help him build his case. Nor did anecdotes about celebrities' marriages breaking up because they told national magazines they brought their BlackBerrys to bed with them.

Freeman concludes the book by offering tips, but those, too, have their weaknesses. His first tip is never to send an e-mail unless it's absolutely necessary, a rule that, conservatively, I have broken at least six times today already. (That spirited debate on the Best One-Hit Wonders Of The Naughties, however, was necessary.) There are many times when an e-mail is not the most efficient method of getting what you need, but the medium can be a joy and a comfort -- what of those? Writing in Slate about Thomas Mallon's new book on letters, Megan Marshall paraphrases V.S. Naipaul's plea to his sister into "Please keep me alive with your e-mails," terming it "an appeal only Google could love." I don't think that's the case. A message can be very much needed without being necessary.

Sure, I probably check my e-mail too often and get distracted by it when I do, but I think I can moderate my own exposure to it. That said, if you believe you have an e-mail problem, I suggest this alternate reading list. Disclaimer: I am not an expert (or while we're at it an editor at a well regarded literary magazine, as Freeman is), nor am I particularly well organized.

If you are short on time, read Merlin Mann's articles on Inbox Zero which encourage ruthlessly dealing with every e-mail you get and not treating your inbox like an urgent to-do list. (I believe this is the subject of his forthcoming book as well). If you have a little more time, read Julie Morgenstern's NEVER CHECK E-MAIL IN THE MORNING, focusing specifically on work productivity and how to get more done in your day. If you think your problem is more systemic than with just your e-mail, read Liz Davenport's ORDER FROM CHAOS. She's a professional organizer, but not the kind that will encourage you to go out and buy a bunch of bins or folders for your existing junk, more of the kind that will help you determine what parts of your existing junk will help you get more done.

FTC cover-assery: I got THE TYRANNY OF E-MAIL from the library; I had checked out the Morgenstern book when I read it a while back and I bought the Davenport book. I got my first e-mail address in 1997. Hotmail, naturally.