] The distractions of constant emails, text and phone
] messages are a greater threat to IQ and concentration
] than taking cannabis, according to a survey of befuddled
] volunteers.
]
] Doziness, lethargy and an increasing inability to focus
] reached "startling" levels in the trials by 1,100 people,
] who also demonstrated that emails in particular have an
] addictive, drug-like grip.

I don't know if I'd agree that it's causing a drop in my intelligence level, but I absolutely agree that the constant distractions have a negative effect on my own productivity. Even when I try to get disciplined and turn off IMs and minimize my email apps, I find that after about 10-15 minutes of "work", I get an overwhelming urge to peek back at my email queue to see if anything new has come in.

On the other hand, I know that I *am* still very productive, and I get an enormous quantity of things done, which I could not do as quickly if I were isolated in a rustic unwired mountain cabin somewhere -- my connection to cyberspace enables a very rapid flow of information and fact-checking which speeds many other processes. But I've found that the *kind* of work I tend to gravitate to, is the work which gives me quick feedback on how I'm doing. Like talking to customers, or making a webpage change where I can watch the hit counter, or compiling a program and checking if it has any errors. If it's more isolated work (like editing a lengthy document), I find it less satisfying since I can't plug into that immediate gratification loop. And I find myself pushing projects like that to the side, unless I go into a very obsessive tunnel-vision "Don't talk to me until I'm done with this project" mode. The kind where I forget food and sleep, and I ignore friends who are trying to contact me. :/

Emails 'pose threat to IQ'