"Your Inbox is Full!"

It seems at least a couple of times a day, the cluttered computer screen before me is interrupted by a stern warning from that tiny creature that lurks within our company's network, announcing... "Your Inbox is Full!" After which, I have to forget about what I'm doing at that moment, switch to my mail program and try and figure out who's missiles are important and who's are not.

I don't know if you have this same problem, but it really gets old, and it always seems to bother me more than it should. At the same time, I think it's merely a representation of something that plagues more and more of society (if not most) on a daily basis. While a friend and I walked back to our office today after lunch today, we spoke about a number of work related things and he shared with me concern he has had over recent months that really bothers him. He was/is perplexed by the fact he's having difficulty remembering phone numbers he's just heard when on calls with clients unless he immediately writes them down. He's wondering if his mind is all screwed up or whether he's losing control. He's tired, feels off balance most of the time and always thinks he's missing something. As we walked on I pondered his situation for a block or two. In responce, I told him that I thought/think he's perfectly normal and can totally identify with what he's experiencing.

We both work in a job that is understaffed for the level of mental gymnastics we are expected to perform at. I look at him and recognize much of my own situation. In him, I see a well designed, fully adorned, human computer that is capable of doing wonderful work and producing tremendous product for our employer save one thing... his "Inbox", or in this case, his "Ram Memory" is full! Not only is it full, it's overloaded, and there's no time provided to archive data and free up operating space. As a result, that information that is not fully supported by his daily work expectation is all too often dropped.

Lest I overly contribute to this onslaught of input on your own mental capacities, I'll try to tie this up by posing couple of quick observations and/or queries. First and foremost... "Isn't there a better way to live?" I know this has been a subject of discussion for decades if not eons, but just the same, "Where have we gone astray?" "Isn't it time that we recognize the general limits of human performance and quit trying to force an expansion of those limits for financial reasons despite the fact that such an expansion is detrimental to the health and well being of the forcee?"