Do I Have New Mail? Do I Have New Mail? Do I ...
One of the common frustrations I hear from people regarding email is the feeling of being not only swamped, but "at the mercy" of their inbox. When email arrives they feel they have to act on it right away, regardless of whatever they're doing.
Factoring in the "New Mail" sound of many email programs, it becomes Pavlovian - we hear the sound and like a well trained puppy we go check our email, interrupting whatever we were doing.
Who's controlling who? Or rather, what's controlling you?
At a conference a couple of years ago, a good friend made a simple suggestion had improved his productivity dramatically. You almost could feel the productivity of the room increase as others implemented his oh-so-simple suggestion.
Take Control
That solution?
Turn off automatic new mail checking.
"However will I get my new mail?" you might ask. Simple. Manually. When, and only when, you decide you want to check.
The problem with automated checking is that it's an interruption. Often it's a frequent interruption that breaks concentration and dramatically impacts productivity.
If you've ever worked on something so intently that you've lost track of time, you know what I'm talking about. That was probably very productive time for you. The technical term "flow", and it's very cool when it happens, because it typically does indicate a high level of concentration and focus on the task at hand. In other words, productivity.
Now, imagine if you're interrupted every 10 minutes with a "bing bong" announcing new mail. The temptation is too great ... you'll probably interrupt what you're doing, and go check. You might even take "just a second" to respond to a message or two.
But the "flow" is broken, the moment is gone. You've lost your focus.
And let's face it, why should email be anything other than on your terms? We all feel like computers are running our lives at times, this is one simple way you can take back some control.
Phones and Rubber Bands
This really isn't new. In fact, it's an old idea applied to new technology.
In the past, it was the telephone.
Frequently, even today, when a phone rings, people will interrupt what they were doing - even a conversation with someone right in front of them - to answer the phone.
Some years ago I read a time management book that describe an office that made two changes:
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Older phones had actually bells in them - loud, obnoxious bells that demanded attention. They opened up their phones and wrapped a rubber band around the bell. Now, instead of a loud obnoxious RING, it made a soft purr. Much less insistent, and much easier to let go.
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They defined it as "ok" to not answer the phone. Messages could be left, and would be answered at a time more convenient to the recipient.
Productivity increased.
It's the same principal as checking email on your schedule, not someone else's.
But I Want It Now!
So if you're in a situation where you need to be quickly accessible?
To begin with email was never the right solution. There are legitimate reasons that email might be delayed, sometimes for hours. You should never rely on email being near real time, even though it often is.
Instead, consider the other ways in which you make yourself available: phone, instant messaging, pagers and more. Let email be what it was designed to be: a store-and-forward approach to message delivery without a specific time requirement. Use more immediate technologies for more immediate needs.
Naturally those technologies have many of the same risks. If checking your email every 10 minutes is replaced by an IM interruption every 10 minutes, we haven't solved anything. Make sure that immediate needs are truly immediate. If not ... turn off your IM client or ignore your phone and use voicemail (put a rubber band around the bell, if need be :-).
One Reason Not
There is at least one reason you might leave automated email downloading enabled. If you typically get a lot of email or large emails, the time it takes to download might be significant. It's nice to turn to your computer and have it already be there.
The solution is simple.
Turn off the notification.
Let email client download all it wants to, whenever it wants to, as long as it doesn't interrupt you. If you don't notice then it's nearly equivalent to it not happening at all.
If you find yourself distracted by the download, then it's not working. Better to switch to a download on your terms, than run the risk of periodic distraction.
Just Make Sure It's Your Choice
The bottom line is simply that you should make sure that you are choosing how, and when you're willing to be interrupted, and by what.
Then use that control to ensure you get the time you want to focus on whatever it is you're doing.
Without a "bing bong" every 10 minutes.
