Turn the Bell Off!

This is a trap that I have found myself completely caught in. I am working on a project on my computer and all of a sudden I hear the familiar "dah duh, dah duh" of my email box announcing that I've got mail. Curious, I stop what I am doing and checkout what has just arrived. Or even worse, a little window pops up with, "Message from Wendy". I wonder, "What does Wendy have to say?". Fifteen minutes later I am finished responding to Wendy and a few other messages that have arrived. I am now totally derailed from what I have been doing on my project.

Email is a wonderful tool but it also can be a MAJOR interrupter and time waster. Try turning the bell and popup off. If email is critical to what you do at work, schedule a consistent time (like the top of the hour) to check email. Otherwise, fight the urge to check email too often-maybe only check it 2-3 times a day. You will be surprised how your focus will increase as well as your productivity.

Tips On Handling E Mail

One research firm has estimated that in approximately 5 years, 41% of an employee's time will be spent reading and responding to e mail. To me, that's scary!

In it's October 5 edition, USA Today had a great article entitled Fridays go from casual to e-mail-free. Marsha Egan, an executive coach gives some superb advice on taming that inbox. Among her suggestions:

• Don't use e mail to avoid unpleasant tasks. Talk to people face to face whenever possible.
• Don't constantly check for new messages.
• Respond to important messages first-even if they're difficult.

One of the most telling comments by Egan was that when you check e-mail, it can take up to 4 minutes to refocus. Multiply that by the number of times you check it per day, and you have wasted alot of time in your lineup that could have been used for a much better act-or even an intermission.