Obsessed With Refresh

Well, my company IT department finally decided to block Facebook. It's been a long time coming, and even though I'm not nearly as active in this particular social networking scene as I once was, I sort of feel like I've had a limb amputated. Okay maybe not an entire limb... maybe more like a pinky finger. But still.

So this leaves me with email. And I've realized this week that I might have a serious problem with my Hotmail account. My behavior is bordering on obsession, and I'm wondering if it's considered normal and/or healthy...

I find myself clicking the refresh button over... and over... and over. About every five minutes or so, sometimes even more often. I email back and forth with various friends all day long. While doing my regular job, I find myself in a constant state of multitasking. I'll send a work-related email, and then automatically open Hotmail from the bottom of my screen so I can click refresh and see if I've received a response any of the emails I sent three minutes prior. I'll answer a phone call... refresh. Compose a document... refresh. Schedule a meeting... refresh. It's become as automatic as blinking.

I've thought of conducting an experiment in which I don't check my personal email account once during an entire workday. But this line of thinking immediately brings on a mild anxiety attack, so I've never gone through with it.

Ah well, I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. Clicking refresh and seeing the bolded number indicating one (or more!) new messages is just such a satisfying little adrenaline rush. So I look forward to receiving your emails, friends!