email is the mind killer
Note: Yeah, I haven't published anything in awhile. I've written a fair bit, but it's all in various unpublished states. I'm trying to be systematic, with my Tuesday evenings dedicated to writing and publishing. But that doesn't leave much time for lengthy research, backlinking, etc. So my publishing rate diminishing as I work on more in-depth stuff. Sorry. Back to the article...
"Email is the mind killer" - Tim Ferris. A quote I just heard today in a podcast Tim was a guest on. What a simple, yet powerful statement. I've recently started a new job (like, NEW NEW job. As in, it hasn't existed before). This new job requires lots of email, because I'm trying to elbow my way into ongoing operations. Email, being the primary method of communication in the military, is critical for me to "get a seat at the table" and become a part of the conversation between the various organizations involved. As the new kid on the block, I'm always trying to get people to add me to distro lists, forward me email chains that I wasn't a part of, and so on. So my point is yes, email is necessary. But it's one hell of a time waster if you let it be.
That intoxicating "ding" Outlook plays every time it receives an email always lulls me out of whatever important work I'm doing. Flow disrupted, I'm instead informed that this week's menu for the dining facility has been published. In an effort to improve my productivity and efficiency, I've taken a few actions to chain this beast.
Step 1 - Defeat Outlook. Go into Outlook, under general options, and disable the sound notification for new emails. Also, disable any pop-ups or icons for new mail. This hack alone greatly decreases interruptions. Outlook has lost its ability to annoy.
Step 2 - Defeat Your Inner Email Junkie. Schedule when Outlook checks the email servers for new mail. This is "email batching", and it's a fantastic option, because you remove your ability to self-distract with the age-old "oh, let me just check if I've got any email real quick" gimmick. I like to schedule 10AM, 1PM, 4PM, and 6PM. That way, in case I'm pulling a late night, I'll get the 6PM email drop, but if I'm not there, the emails will be waiting for me when I come to work the next day.
Hope that helps you. Whoever the hell you are.