“I need my email on all the time.”
“People expect me to to be always on.”
I get this alot. In practically every Inbox Zero workshop I run.
Think about it, your postman only comes once or twice a day. Would you welcome him if he delivered every letter individually? Would you check the door if you hadn’t heard a knock in the last few minutes?
That would be unmanageable.
How much of our ‘always on’ mentality to email is self-imposed?
What about the last time you were at a training session, in a meeting or on a call to a client? Did you answer emails straight away? Did the world end?
Instead of reacting to emails as and when they come in, how about deciding on a set time to read and respond to email? Only turn your email on for that time. If you do need your emails open for other work, then turn off the automatic send and receive and deal with new emails when you choose.
Maybe three times a day - morning, lunchtime, afternoon.
Maybe 10 minutes at the top of every hour.
Or maybe just give yourself a challenge. Turn it off for half an hour and see how much you get done in 30 minutes of uninterrupted time.
About the Author
Grace Marshall is head coach and chief encourager at Grace-Marshall.com and author of the Amazon bestselling 21 Ways to Manage the Stuff That Sucks Up Your Time. She is also a Productivity Ninja with Think Productive, a company that runstime management workshops with a difference, and loves helping busy people get more done with less stress and more fun.
Want to sort your inbox out once and for all? Get Grace’s help at her Getting Your Inbox to Zero workshop in Stafford on Friday 20th September.