Keep Yourself on Track
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Some of the push and pull of email is unavoidable.
If you work in a client-based or customer-centric
business, for example, you may need to keep a close
eye on your inbox all day long. But think hard about
whether the nature of your work really requires you
to be “on” all the time. If not, there’s no reason to drop
what you’re doing every time you receive an email—
especially if you’re focused on another task. Sure, you
want to be responsive and alert, but you also don’t
want to be in reaction mode all day. It will kill your
focus.
Email can provide a refuge from more diffi cult
tasks, so it is easy for it to turn into a time-wasting
trap: First you answer one non-urgent email, then an-
other, then another, then another ...