[...] Lightman, Donald Knuth, Neal Stephensen, and Leo Babauta, for example, all gave up (public) e-mail. I realize now that what attracts me to [...]

Maybe it would be more sensible to distinguish between email, which is a widely-used way of communication information in the business world, and other social media like Facebook, which are used mostly for, well, social purposes?

I’m not sure you can make this distinction. If I were to disconnect from Facebook entirely, I wouldn’t get invited to (or even be aware of) business and social events going on around me. Because many people are so reliant on Facebook, many events are planned and publicized solely on the site. Think of Facebook as the newest generation’s equivalent of email, the phone, or the housecall. For my generation, it has become difficult to function socially without it.

[...] by listen patiently and attentively when they tell you what to do (they hate being ignored), or by being purposefully hard to reach. You can tell whether your supervisors are certified brassholes (i.e. micromanaging nightmares to [...]

Now if I can only check my email once a day.. that will be the next challenge.

I’m working on a similar challenge myself…

It’s exactly the same as someone deciding, 20 years ago, to just stop communicating by phone and only respond to people who drive over to their house and knock on their door.

I don’t necessarily advocate having no e-mail, but am instead saying that for some people have very limited e-mail makes sense. I think the phone is a great analogy. Twenty years ago, if you were a CEO, for example, you would have a secretary screening your calls. When you were working on an important report you would not be interrupted. And even at the end of the day when she brought you your messages, she would have screened out all but the most important that you actually had to answer yourself. This would be the same, today, as having given your e-mail address to only a small number of people and only checking the inbox infrequently.

An even better example: imagine being a student 20 years ago. You would be very hard to reach by phone. You could make calls from the phone in the hallway, but, otherwise, if someone wanted to reach you, they would probably be out of luck. For these students, the idea of bringing a phone with you to the library and having your friends call you throughout the evening would seem ludicrous. But this is basically what it’s like for a modern student to study on a WiFi-enabled laptop.

Now if I can only check my email once a day.. that will be the next challenge.

The thing is, email is not merely a new trendy social media application. It is a widely used form of interaction that is rapidly replacing the phone as the preferred mode of business communication. That’s what makes the Email Zero idea so incomprehensible to me — it’s exactly the same as someone deciding, 20 years ago, to just stop communicating by phone and only respond to people who drive over to their house and knock on their door. Admittedly, some people are natural hermits, such as novelists, painters, composers, but this should not be hailed as a great way to become more efficient, for anyone with a job or a business to run. One of my bosses (also the owner of the business) is pretty much incapable of dealing with emails, and the fallout from his poor communication skills is incredible.

Maybe it would be more sensible to distinguish between email, which is a widely-used way of communication information in the business world, and other social media like Facebook, which are used mostly for, well, social purposes?

I think the trick is, if you need to be on these systems for whatever reason (as I need to for work, etc.) is to keep in mind that they are for YOUR convenience, not other people’s…

Absolutely. I think Merlin Mann coined to term “time burglar” to capture the idea that someone can come in and redirect your time without your consent.

The other point I was hoping to make is that for many people, it’s not necessary to keep up with every piece of popular social media software. I save a lot of time not twittering or facebooking, with little negative consequences.

So if I need big chunks of time, all those messages can just wait. If I can react then, I will (but not if I don’t feel like it.) The last thing any of us need is more tethers…