The email distraction.
Quick advice on productivity DON’TS with email:
– Shut off the email notifications. You will be more productive if you are not checking your email every time a new message comes in. Utilize email notification rules only for high priorities. Instead, stay on task by starting one thing, finishing it and moving on to the next.
– Check email only twice per day and NEVER as the first thing in the morning. Instead have a clear prioritized plan for the day before opening email so you are not distracted by looming issues.
– Only look at each email once, if possible. At this point you should to reply to it, delete it, file it or flag it for future reference. This will allow you to blow through a large portion of the emails, keep your inbox from locking up, get you organized and ready to start anew.
– Clean out you inbox AT LEAST once per week. Despite my best efforts, sometimes things build up and clutter my inbox. I take the time, even if it is on a Saturday morning when hopefully no one else is working to clear out my inbox if messages have built up during the week.
Working remotely, I have found these strategies to work well, keeping me on task and focused on my high priority items.
Shut off notifications, check email twice per day, take action on each email as it is opened and clear inbox once each week.
