I'd never get anything done if we did this.

Plus, in my job, we have to document EVERYTHING. If it isn't written, it didn't happen, and that could come back to bite you in the arse. I do have to admit, though, that I have been known to IM people in the next cube.

'Scott A. Dockter knew things were bad when he found himself e-mailing his assistant seated a few feet away. But it was more than his own e-mail habit that prompted the CEO of PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services in Alpharetta, Ga., to launch "no e-mail Fridays."

He suspected that overdependence on e-mail at PBD, which offers services such as call-center management and distribution, was hurting productivity and perhaps sales. So in July, he instructed his 275 employees to pick up the phone or meet in person each Friday and to reduce e-mail use the rest of the time.

That was tough to digest, especially for younger staffers and some senior managers. "We discovered a lot of introverts . . . who had drifted into a pattern of communicating by e-mail," Dockter says.'

Full story here.