On e-mail you can receive messages about: a leaving present for someone you’ve never met; equipment you never ordered; or a class you never teach.

Think of the cost of time spent responding to irrelevant e-mails. My partner has stopped reading work e-mails on the assumption that importan things will find their way to him anyway. So far, his world has not come to an end.

We need a selective approach to ensure we get the right message to the right person. By the way, I am sending this message just once - by post!

Marie Parker-Jenkins

Professor of research in education

School of education and social science

University of Derby