How to Cope With E-Mail Overload at Work

Asana’s Justin Rosenstein joins our experts discussing e-mail overload, open office plans, telecommuting, and eating lunch at their desks.

Where does e-mail rank in terms of problems of the modern workplace?
I would say that the use of e-mail and the problems surrounding e-mail are the No. 1 problem. McKinsey found that 30 percent of people’s time is spent literally just on e-mail and reading and writing e-mail. Another 20 percent of people’s time is spent on trying to get pieces of information that their co-workers already know. E-mail becomes this completely unmanaged to-do list that someone else created for you.