Perhaps you don't have to. Taking a break once every hour or so while you're working on a big project is not only natural but probably a good way to keep your level of effort from tapering off. Remember, even the most intense football games include a half-time.

It's interesting to wonder why e-mail is so fascinating. Psychologists would point out that it's very "rewarding" — checking e-mail leads to positive emotions. Why? Well, if nothing else, you are reassured that no disaster has unfolded since the last time you checked. In contrast to the big project that you are working on, where the task may stretch over several days and any payoff may be months down the line, answering an e-mail can provide an instant sense of satisfaction.

Even trivial messages can be rewarding: "Where are the keys to the filing cabinet?" "What is the date for the sales conference?" People need you and you have the answers. Even deleting junk mail is moderately satisfying: Six messages, but four I don't have to deal with.

Above all, e-mail is intermittently rewarding. Every once in a while, a message arrives with a big payoff: New business from a client, a compliment from senior management, or just a friendly note from a colleague you haven't heard from in a while. As any slot machine player knows, it's the intermittent, unpredictable reward that most controls behavior.

So, relax and enjoy getting your e-mail fix. You'll be known as a colleague who responds quickly. Now, back to writing that big report!

I've been setting up "informational interviews" hoping to land a summer internship. But it's hard to "close the deal" especially when the executive spends much of the time bemoaning the current state of the economy and dropping hints about layoffs. How can I move from "informational" to good hiring interviews?

A good line to use in closing an informational interview is: "Who else should I be talking to?" Your contact will likely give you specific names of people in his or her firm, people who have a business need for summer interns. If her or his own company is downsizing, they can often suggest people in other firms who are experiencing an increase in business. Even if the friendly executive draws a blank, it's always possible that you'll get an e-mail later on: "You know, I was just thinking …"

If your executive contact is deeply pessimistic about the prospect of internships this year, you can ask for advice on how you should spend your time this summer. International travel, volunteering for a worthwhile cause or even advancing your degree timeline by taking summer school may all be reasonable alternatives, and you should see what would make you an attractive candidate in the future. I'm West Coast based, but my duties have just changed, and now I'm responsible for managing people on the Eastern Time Zone. How can I adjust to this? I don't want to begin work at 6 a.m. (9 o'clock on the East Coast) and work as usual until 7 or 8 o'clock here on Pacific Time.

Try to do as much as you can by e-mail, the communication device that allows for both place-shifting (you are in California, your message is read in New York) and time shifting (you write at 6 p.m. and your message is read at 10 o'clock the next day). For phone calls, many people working across time zones will schedule time for an early batch of phone calls from home each morning, before showering and heading to the office. Better to take 45 minutes at 6 o'clock than to have to arrive at the office several hours early.

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David Robinson is a senior lecturer at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, and wrote the book "Business Protocol: Contemporary American Practice."

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