Keep your email habit under control to save time and remain focused at work

Posted April 28, 2010

For some of us, it’s tough imagining a day without email — it’s an immediate link to colleagues, projects, and updates. However, leaving your email open all day long can often lead to dozens of distractions which interrupt your work flow and thought process. Maybe it’s time to cut the cord?

Email can be a big time-saver, but we often can’t help dropping whatever we were working on to respond to a new message. It can be difficult to resist… That little “new message” icon is certainly tempting, but each time we succumb to its siren call represents a distraction from what should be our first priority: getting things done.

Sure, each email check may only distract us for a few seconds, but adding up those distractions throughout the day can add up fast. In addition, we often waste time while trying to pick up where we left off with a task. We all know how difficult it can be to remember where we left off with a task, and that difficult often leads to wasted time and frustration.

So while we may not be able to cut out email entirely from our work day, here are some helpful tips that may help you stay on task and GTD (get things done)!

Disable your email program’s audio or visual notification that a new email has arrived

If your email program serves up an audio or visual notification when you receive a new email, try disabling it. You won’t be tempted to immediately read that new email, and you’ll naturally ration your email-checking throughout the day.

Batch your email tasks by only checking your email at specific times during your day.

99% of the email we receive DOES NOT require an immediate response. Yet, we often feel the need to stay on top of our inbox and reply to emails instantaneously.

Instead, try only opening your email twice or three times a day — for instance, at 10:30, 1:00, and 4:00. Consolidating lets us “batch” our email tasks a couple of times a day, instead of allowing email to distract us all day long.

Recognize when a simple phone call can take less time than a constant email back-and-forth

It’s hard to believe in this day and age, but sometimes email is less efficient than a phone call. No, I’m not kidding!

We’ve all had those irritatingly persistent email exchanges — one response leads to another leads to another. If we were to simply pick up the phone and call him or her, we’d be able to settle all of our questions and deliver all of our information in a fraction of the time.

Do you have any time-saving tips for managing your email? Leave them in the comments below.