Do you live in your inbox?!
How many times a day do you check email?
If you work at a desk all day like me, your answer is most likely "constantly" or "as it arrives." But have you ever stopped to think about how often you are actually checking email? The answer might be upwards of dozens of times a day, not to mention responding within minutes of receipt much of the time. Really have a think about it for a moment.
If this sounds familiar, you are living inside your inbox. You probably have previews set up so the email pops up in the system tray while you're working in Word or another application. Sometimes you click on "Dismiss," but other times, you expand the email and handle it right away. Either way, your attention is pulled towards that incoming email. You may think you're being productive by dismissing or replying to the email immediately, but I promise you, you're not. Continuously switching tasks forces you to reorient yourself with what you were working on... over and over again, all day long.
I know this from experience. Once I realized this, I started closing email while I worked through my Pomodoro sessions so I could get deep, focused work done. But old habits die hard. I recently fell back into the trap of working with email open all day long and decided to do a deep dive -- I'm talking armchair psychology expert stuff here. Why was I obsessing over email? Here's what I realized:
I get a high from immediately resolving emails when they arrive. I feel valuable and worthy, like a good worker bee collecting gold stars. <Ouch.>
I worry that it somehow looks like I'm not working if I don't respond quickly. Ironic much? In other words, I worry what my colleagues think even though I know I'm more productive when I do one thing at a time. <Gulp.>
I turn to email as a way to feel productive. This happens especially when I'm looking to avoid a task that's tedious, difficult, or... just not my favorite. It's a thinly-veiled procrastination tactic. <Eek.>
Does any of this resonate with you? If so, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but also glad to do so. Let's get productive again with this fix: pick a task you need to complete and close your inbox for 25 minutes while you work. (First, if you use Outlook for email and calendar reminders, check whether you have an upcoming meeting and set a timer to make sure you're not late!) It's going to make you uncomfortable and panicky. But when you do open your email, you'll realize:
25 minutes of uninterrupted work feels like an eternity.
You're blown away by how much you accomplished.
The world did not end because you received an email 25 minutes after its delivery.
I repeat: the world did not end because you received an email 25 minutes after its delivery. (If it was really urgent, you'd get a Teams notification, text message, and phone call too!)
The world did not end because you did not reply right away.
As for worrying about what others may or may not think of your response time? Trust me, they don't care. It's not even within their calculus as long as you reply within a reasonable business time, depending on your job. As you do this more and more, you'll feel comfortable checking email once an hour, then once every 90 minutes, and so on. I promise!
*My lawyerly disclaimer: I understand that not everyone has the luxury of closing email for extended periods of time while they work. Adapt this approach as necessary. Try ten minutes. I also understand that some of you don't work at a desk all day. If that's you, you can still think about how often you're checking your email and why. Are you simply bored? Is it a compulsive habit? Be honest with yourself.
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