You Need to Get to Work!

Office workers' desperation for better focus stems largely from the avalanche of e-mail. Management experts constantly advise desk jockeys to check e-mail just a few times a day. But turning off that in box is a discipline that's hard to achieve. Microsoft is trying to help. Its latest version of Outlook, which went on sale in January, allows users to "flag" e-mails for follow-up. The point is to help people realize it's OK not to respond to a note immediately, by making it easier to automatically add it to their to-do lists, specifying the time by which they want to reply and blocking out time on their calendars to write back. To keep workers focused, Outlook and the new Vista operating system allow workers' task lists to be featured prominently on-screen, no matter what other programs are open.

In this quest for productivity, even the experts acknowledge it's important to strike a balance. The best bosses will always find ways to get work done while still leaving time for agenda-less "managing by walking around." Likewise, every worker can benefit from controlled doses of unstructured water-cooler time, when some of the best business ideas are born. And even Abrahamson, the advocate of messiness, has found he can't manage his time wisely without putting everyappointment in his Outlook calendar, which he syncs to his handheld com-puter and his wristwatch. No matterwhat strategies we use, says Morgen-stern, "we will never—any of us—get to the bottom of our to-do lists in our lifetime." But a growing movement stands ready to help those who aim to die trying.

With Samantha Henig

© 2007