Want to know why you really feel stressed? How about:

• keeping up with an average of 156 e-mails a day
• switching tasks every three minutes
• spending one-quarter of your day handling interruptions and recovering from them, and
• being told everything is a high priority.

Sounds like the formula for putting Purchasing and Procurement pros in full overload mode.

There isn’t a lot you can do to slow the tide of e-mails or stop interruptions in their tracks. Still, some companies have come up with solutions.

One example: At IBM, the company started “ThinkFridays,” a one-day-a-week moratorium on meetings, calls and e-mails.

Of course, not all of us are so fortunate. But there are some slight tweaks you can make on your end of the problem that can ease your stress level immensely

• Deal with e-mail right away with “one touch” — read it, delete it, file it or act on it
• From the same school of thought, experts recommend keeping e-mail in-boxes clean. It frees you to think about higher-value activities
• Come up with five key goals for each week, and list them somewhere you’ll see them often, and
• Rely more on instant messaging for “quick hit” communications.

There’s hope on the horizon: Some of the heavy hitters in the communication industry are trying to create ways to cut back on “information pollution.” But until that happens, you’re on your own to find fresh air.

Tags: e-mail, procurement, purchasing