Just about everyone I talk to these days has the e-mail problem. The talk goes like this: E-mail is out of control. The volumes get bigger every day. Our inboxes are inundated, as are our sent and delete folders. There's not enough time to answer even the e-mails that matter. Managing e-mail is now the job, not an aid to the job. The real work isn't getting done. The e-mail problem has become the first topic of conversation in business meetings. It's how you break the ice with people and establish common interests. It has replaced sports, family, even movies as the conversation starter. Everyone has the e-mail addiction and the affliction. Are we all going crazy with e-mail or is e-mail making us crazy? We're too crazed to know. E-mail started out as a useful tool in the scientific arena in the early 1970s through ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet. Now, 10 billion messages flow across the Internet every day and another 30 billion course through the private intranets of corporations and other organizations, according to Ferris Research. A big problem, though, is that 75% of these messages are spam, Ferris says. Despite this, e-mail has been a great productivity tool for business and an important mechanism for how we socialize in companies. E-mail makes us feel connected, part of the fabric of the business. There's an emotional dimension to e-mail that makes us want to be part of it. But e-mail has become over-used and abused and now poses a productivity threat to business. A recent study by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London, as reported on Forbes.com, showed that the productivity of volunteer office workers was significantly diminished by the distractions of e-mail, instant messaging, and telephones. Furthermore, the study showed that "62% of adults are literally addicted to checking e-mail and text messages during meetings, in the evenings, and on weekends." The study calls this "infomania" and warns of the abuse of always-on technology. The term infomania suggests that a form of insanity has taken possession of us, but there appears to be no cure. E-mail is going to become even more pervasive over time as more and more people use advanced personal communication devices. There will be many benefits to this, but there will also be huge negatives -- imagine getting 1,000 e-mails a day instead of 100 now -- unless some management oversight is exercised. Sure, you can do all the conventional things like getting more specific in headers, using filters and folders, and even being more disciplined about writing, and accepting, short, to-the-point messages. But individuals and companies might also want to consider some time-management techniques, like specifying certain times of the day that e-mail be dealt with, to bring some order to the chaos. And don't forget some common-sense rules like going to talk to the person in the next office or cubicle. We need the equivalent of a Green movement for e-mail. Save an e-mail today. In the end, I think it's all about putting this technology in the right context of work and life. Don't let it rule you. Take control of e-mail, before it drives you even crazier than it already has. What's your take on e-mail? Write to me at Dbrousell@thomaspublishing.com.