Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, Third Edition

Hack 41: Reduce Email Interruptions

Level Easy

Platform All

Cost Free

In contrast to phone calls, SMS, and instant messenger, email was never intended for real-time communication. However, most people treat it as if it were. You most likely work with your email program open all day long, letting it check for new messages every five minutes or less and notify you of unread incoming email on the spot.

It’s so difficult to ignore that little unopened envelope, isn’t it? Maybe those new messages contain juicy gossip, or photos of the baby, or heaping praise from the boss. Maybe they contain details of an emergency that has to be dealt with right this second. Most likely, they contain an unimportant Facebook notification or misspelled details of how to buy “cheap V1@gr@,” but nevertheless, the impulse to look at them is powerful. Unread email is just another shot of the information drug your hungry mind craves. It cries out to you, “Open me! Open me!”

However, when you need to focus, do yourself a favor: actively control when you check your email. Two strategies can help.

Shut Down Your Email Program

The simplest (but perhaps least practical) way to stop letting your inbox run your day is to quit your email software. Make your default work mode email-free. Open your inbox only at designated processing times. Commit to just two or three times during a workday — say, first thing in the morning, just after lunch, and an hour before you leave — to check for and process unread messages. ...