The routine; get up, read papers over breakfast (Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times) surf morning news and TV shows, sit at a desk, read and respond to hundred plus emails that I should, delete hundreds more I shouldn't (you know the sort I mean), catch up with blogs worldwide, check out specialized websites, assess media sites; field telephone calls, cell phone calls, Skype calls and instant messages.

Meanwhile, work and advise companies. Write stuff. Get stuff out the door. Take meetings. Research. Talk. Go out. Pitch for business. etc etc. So, where's the beef?  That's the way we all work today. Isn't it?

It is.But Basex, a US research company claims up to 28% of every day is "wasted" by these sort of interruptions. (Normal corporate type of claim) In contrast, Salary.com VP Coleman says they're really not interruptions and money isn't "wasted". Its' that we ask people to work so much more these days they 'need" to web surf, or IM, to remain sane. And in touch.

We tend to Salary's interpretation.We have tools. We use them to do business.To find out stuff. Basex misses the point. The net and new availability of communication has changed the way we work. And the work itself. 

So IM and the net and email aren't intrusions, they're different elements of the work day, to be managed, used and enjoyed. Plus, they're here forever, anyway.