#10 in Economics
A World Without Email
- 322
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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About the book
A New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller From New York Times bestselling author Cal Newport comes a bold vision for liberating workers from the tyranny of the inbox--and unleashing a new era of productivity. Modern knowledge workers communicate constantly. Their days are defined by a relentless barrage of incoming messages and back-and-forth digital conversations--a state of constant, anxious chatter in which nobody can disconnect, and so nobody has the cognitive bandwidth to perform substantive work. There was a time when tools like email felt cutting edge, but a thorough review of current evidence reveals that the "hyperactive hive mind" workflow they helped create has become a productivity disaster, reducing profitability and perhaps even slowing overall economic growth. Equally worrisome, it makes us miserable. Humans are simply not wired for constant digital communication. We have become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it's hard to imagine alternatives. But they do exist. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, author and computer science professor Cal Newport makes the case that our current approach to work is broken, then lays out a series of principles and concrete instructions for fixing it. In A World without Email, he argues for a workplace in which clear processes--not haphazard messaging--define how tasks are identified, assigned and reviewed. Each person works on fewer things (but does them better), and aggressive investment in support reduces the ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. Above all else, important communication is streamlined, and inboxes and chat channels are no longer central to how work unfolds. The knowledge sector's evolution beyond the hyperactive hive mind is inevitable. The question is not whether a world without email is coming (it is), but whether you'll be ahead of this trend. If you're a CEO seeking a competitive edge, an entrepreneur convinced your productivity could be higher, or an employee exhausted by your inbox, A World Without Email will convince you that the time has come for bold changes, and will walk you through exactly how to make them happen.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 78 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 30% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Economics average of 7.9. That is how 7.9 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 5 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 73 | 94% |
Frequently asked
What is A World Without Email rated?
7.9 out of 10, from 78 reader ratings across 2 independent sources.
Is A World Without Email worth reading?
Readers give it 7.9/10 from 78 ratings, which puts it ahead of 64 % of the Economics shelf.
How long does it take to read A World Without Email?
About 6 hours at an average reading pace — 322 pages.
Where does A World Without Email rank?
#10 in Economics on the current snapshot.
How long is A World Without Email?
It has 322 pages — longer than 53% of the ranked books in Economics.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Economics — with scores between 7.8 and 7.9, closest to this book.
