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Monday, April 30, 2007
Do You E-mail For A Living?
(taken from 8DAYS. written by Kenneth Kway.)
Can't resist looking at your phone, inbox or MSN beeper? That means you're addicted too. One way or other, we're all victims.
"In the '80s, the condition was known as Nintendoitis, and those who suffered from it were kids who loved playing hours of Super Mario Brothers. Today, it is the affliction of adults who own phones with tiny QWERTY keypads. It's called "Blackberry thumb", a painful result of too much typing on tiny keypads. The way tiny keypads are appearing, it's only a matter of time before Singapore spas start offering Fusion-Shiatsu Thumb Massage Therapy.
Which begs the question: why are we so addicted to data? Why do we feel the urge to reply to every SMS, every e-mail, every MSN beep almost immediately? Regardless of industry, our primary occupation seems to be clearing e-mail. The next time someone asks you what you do, just say "I clear e-mail for a living." So, is being connected as good as it sounds?
One friend working in an MNC told me how her company was issuing Blackberries to every employee who wanted one. She resisted at first but eventually caved. Now she's clearing her e-mail while standing in line for nasi lemak and liking it. "It helps me fill downtime with useful work I have to do anyway."
Sure, but when you have some scheduled quality "downtime" away from work, are you able to resist that pulsating inbox icon? What's to stop you from thumbing out some amendment to a meeting agenda and delegating the building of the weekend barbecue fire to you wife? Surely, that can only invite trouble. ("Honey, why are my chicken wings burnt? And they look like they've been dragged through the sand!")
Ah, the tyranny of the urgent: We forget that urgent things are not necessarily important and even important stuff is not always urgent. If you're bending over backwards to keep a clear inbox at all times, consider yourself a victim. I know I am.
Go out there and get a life. Turn off your mobile e-mail when it makes sense. And if you can bear that familiar ache shooting up your right arm, pat your dog a bit more.
"
NOTE FROM YONG:
1. When has it been morally correct to contact someone after 11pm just to see if he or she is free for tea or a movie 1 week later?
2. Shouldn't calls from work anytime after working hours considered overtime?
3. Why should emails and sms-es be called OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS when you have no control over whether the message arrives at the destination?
4. How can I distinguish, halfway through an important meeting, between a phone call that tells me if i'm free for chit-chat (10 missed calls) and a phone call that tells me my mom is in hospital (9 missed calls)?
5. Who the hell started saying that not replying to "hey are you free for a drink later?" is fucking considered "pang seh"?
And the list goes on...
*you-know-who-you-are*,
Ah Yong
Can't resist looking at your phone, inbox or MSN beeper? That means you're addicted too. One way or other, we're all victims.
"In the '80s, the condition was known as Nintendoitis, and those who suffered from it were kids who loved playing hours of Super Mario Brothers. Today, it is the affliction of adults who own phones with tiny QWERTY keypads. It's called "Blackberry thumb", a painful result of too much typing on tiny keypads. The way tiny keypads are appearing, it's only a matter of time before Singapore spas start offering Fusion-Shiatsu Thumb Massage Therapy.
Which begs the question: why are we so addicted to data? Why do we feel the urge to reply to every SMS, every e-mail, every MSN beep almost immediately? Regardless of industry, our primary occupation seems to be clearing e-mail. The next time someone asks you what you do, just say "I clear e-mail for a living." So, is being connected as good as it sounds?
One friend working in an MNC told me how her company was issuing Blackberries to every employee who wanted one. She resisted at first but eventually caved. Now she's clearing her e-mail while standing in line for nasi lemak and liking it. "It helps me fill downtime with useful work I have to do anyway."
Sure, but when you have some scheduled quality "downtime" away from work, are you able to resist that pulsating inbox icon? What's to stop you from thumbing out some amendment to a meeting agenda and delegating the building of the weekend barbecue fire to you wife? Surely, that can only invite trouble. ("Honey, why are my chicken wings burnt? And they look like they've been dragged through the sand!")
Ah, the tyranny of the urgent: We forget that urgent things are not necessarily important and even important stuff is not always urgent. If you're bending over backwards to keep a clear inbox at all times, consider yourself a victim. I know I am.
Go out there and get a life. Turn off your mobile e-mail when it makes sense. And if you can bear that familiar ache shooting up your right arm, pat your dog a bit more.
"
NOTE FROM YONG:
1. When has it been morally correct to contact someone after 11pm just to see if he or she is free for tea or a movie 1 week later?
2. Shouldn't calls from work anytime after working hours considered overtime?
3. Why should emails and sms-es be called OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS when you have no control over whether the message arrives at the destination?
4. How can I distinguish, halfway through an important meeting, between a phone call that tells me if i'm free for chit-chat (10 missed calls) and a phone call that tells me my mom is in hospital (9 missed calls)?
5. Who the hell started saying that not replying to "hey are you free for a drink later?" is fucking considered "pang seh"?
And the list goes on...
*you-know-who-you-are*,
Ah Yong
