What to do when email ceases to be productive
4 comments so far
As an admitted tech junkie, I had a bit of a startling revelation the other day. It is in regard to e-mail.
The whole concept of information being able to travel anywhere in an instant still amazes me when I think about it. The fact that someone on an island in the middle of the ocean can send me an e-mail and it arrives instantly is pretty remarkable. I know that’s a really geeky thing to say but it’s true. Same goes for text and instant messaging.
Naturally, I feel the need to respond to these communications just as fast as I receive them. That’s the whole point, right? And in a corporate environment it’s pretty much expected.
Besides, knowing myself, if I don’t respond quickly I’ll forget.
Because of this I tend to keep a very close eye on my e-mail. I have it set to check for new mail every minute and when I see that little yellow envelope…wow…for some reason I can’t focus until I find out who caused it to show up.
Then one day I decided to quit my e-mail program.
I didn’t minimize it, or hide it. I quit it completely. It was no longer open.
Here’s my thinking behind the rash move:
• E-mail had ceased to be a productive tool. Instead, it had become a distraction.
• I reassured myself nobody was going to care, or even notice. I don’t think anyone is waiting around for me to respond instantly – they don’t even know if I’m in my office. Waiting a half hour before I respond isn’t a big deal.
• If it’s important enough, they’ll call.
So now I close Outlook while I’m working on a project. When I have a break I open it, check e-mail, respond, and close it again. In fact, now Outlook is probably closed as much as it’s open. It’s proven to be a huge time-saver in that I can focus and really dig into a project better than when the little yellow envelope was staring me down.
Does anyone else do something similar? How often do you check your e-mail? Let us know in the comments.
LivSimpl
P.S. I’ve posted a similar idea about turning off your cell phone.
Thanks to Yale (yes, the school) for the image.
Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 11:27 am and is filed under Tech, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I don’t use a chat program very often for the same reason. I have a hard time getting much work done while chatting.
Hear hear! There’s a thin line between utility and distraction, and I have to force myself to turn stuff off when it crosses to the dark side.
oh goll–I am the worst at this. I keep my email up on the computer all day, and I will walk by, and glance at the computer every few MINUTES…it’s insane. I think I need to go to an addiction recovery program. And it’s funny that you brought up the cell phone thing, because I am SO excited to get rid of my cell phone…in 2 days! It’s annoying to me that I can be reached at anytime, anywhere–and I’ve almost been in several accidents because of talking on the phone. So yeah, for being a semi-tech junky, it’s pretty funny how chillax I’m forcing myself to be.
Amy – good insight into chatting.
Peter – Glad to hear I’m not the only one. :)
RaeLynn – Are you going to try closing your e-mail program now?