Uptown

As a timely follow-up to casual Fridays, several companies across the US have decided to launch "Zero E-Mail Fridays", encouraging employees to use phone or face-to-face communication instead of e-mail on those days. According to a story published on usatoday.com, the ubiquitous use of e-mail has slowly replaced traditional conversations at the water-cooler, sometimes leading to people working in the same office but not knowing each other.

Then there's e-mail overload, of course. You know the feeling: It seems like all we do is try to keep the never-ending flow of messages in the inbox at bay. There's help! The article shares a few tricks from Marsha Egan, an executive coach, which I'm copying below. I am determined to follow her advice by the letter. Starting now. Actually, let me check my e-mail one more time. Oh look, a long-lost friend sent a message! With pictures from her new baby girl! Focus, MC.

"Egan says even the busiest e-mailers can, with care, keep control of their in-boxes. Her tips:

•Don't use e-mail to avoid unpleasant tasks. "I couldn't believe people who had never talked to each other but worked in the same office," says Scott Dockter, CEO of PBD. Dockter started e-mail-free Fridays about a year-and-a-half ago. Since then, the number of messages his 400 employees send has dropped by about 75%.

•Don't constantly check for new messages. It can take four minutes to refocus on work after checking an e-mail, Egan says. Jay Ellison, chief operating officer of U.S. Cellular, estimates that his 7,000 employees spend about 1½ hours a day on their in-boxes. E-mail-free Fridays give them more time to solve customers' problems, he says.

•Respond to important messages first - even if they're difficult. Less-pressing issues can wait until a free moment, Egan says."