Email is a great tool, but it’s a huge distraction in itself. I try to not look at it till after 9:30 every day. Then I follow the same process: go through the newest emails, deal with the priority and delete them. Flag the ones that have to be dealt with by end of day and end of week. I delete everything else.
A study at Loughborough University, UK, found that it takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought after interruption by email, so people who check their email every five minutes waste 8.5 hours a week figuring out what they were doing moments before.
Then the issue becomes dealing with the task list. The same methodology applies. Go through today’s tasks, deal with the priority and complete them. Complete all the ones that have to be dealt with by end of day and end of week. Then get rid of the spam from my task list. Simple is Good!
Keeping control of the inbox
If you find your mouse straying towards the “check email” button far too often, try these tactics:
- Turn off intrusive alerts. Anything that pops up, flashes, or goes “ding!” will interrupt you when you’re trying to focus and will trigger a response to check your email.
- Set your email client to display just the title and first few lines of the email, so you can easily decide if it is important enough to deal with right now.
- Use other tools. Twitter and instant messaging (IM) are better for asking short questions of chosen groups. Wikis are better for collaborating on documents. Blogs are better for publishing information and having informal conversations.
- Send fewer emails. Do you need to hit “reply to all”?
- Schedule your email. Set aside time each day to deal with your inbox and ignore it for the rest of the day. Most people check first thing in the morning and late afternoon.
Suw Charman-Anderson is an expert in collaboration and communications
– THE GUARDIAN
Inserted from <http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/youve-got-interruptions/2008/09/08/1220857455459.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2>
The important thing is to remember that email and task lists are tools like hammers are for a carpenter. How often do you hear about a carpenter about his claw hammer? Keep your tool belt organized and keep your tools clean. They’ll server you better that way. Your inbox and task list is your servant. Need help with simple office tasks. Give me a short description of what you need below. You could win a Short Strategy Session valued at $250 dollars.