Does it feel like most of your day is spent reading and writing emails? That’s because it likely is. A recent survey found that workers spend nearly a third of our day keeping up with our inbox.
While we can’t escape email here are a few ways how to deal with being overwhelmed and interrupted by it:
- Send fewer emails. Don’t send unnecessary emails. Think about what you have to say and consider the best way to communicate. Sometimes it is easier and faster to pick up the phone, send and instant message or even walk up to another’s desk.
- Put messages where they belong. Reply to emails that take less than 2 minutes first and file or archive others for your to-do list.
- Check less often. Yes. Ignore the ping, the red dot or even turn notifications off. It takes time to get focused again after being interrupted from an email and get back to what you were doing. So check email in increments that make sense.
Email overload isn’t just annoying, it’s counterproductive; so own your inbox, before it owns you!