Most of us want to be more productive but how do we go about getting everything done we need to? Do we sacrifice some things to get other things done? Are there activities we unconsciously do each day that make our productivity drop dramatically?
Checking Emails too Frequently
One of the main time productivity drains during the work day is constantly checking our email. Think about how often you check email especially if email is received on your Smartphone. How many of us immediately reach for our phone to check who emailed us each time we hear the chime of a notification?
Being a Smartphone user, I was guilty of checking my email repeatedly, at each chime, every day. It seemed I had no sooner begun a task that I would receive an email notification. I felt an uncontrollable urge to grab my phone to see who emailed. It was crazy! I had never checked email so frequently when I was receiving emails on my computer, but receiving them on my phone gave me the illusion that it was so easy to check and respond quickly.
Unfortunately, what I was also getting every day was stressed out. Once I began receiving emails on my phone and with the constant checking and responding, I found it was harder to get back on task. I also had a compulsion of wanting to check my email without even receiving a notification.
Is it possible to get stressed by checking email too frequently?
Two researchers from the University of British Columbia developed an experiment that found by checking email too often we actually have more psychological stress and have an overall lower feeling of well-being. The researchers also found that by checking email less often, it is equal to learning a relaxation technique such as deep breathing and visualization (Kostadin, Dunn 2015). Who could have imagined checking email could have such a negative effect!
There are also other negative aspects to frequently checking emails:
- Constantly checking emails can be used as procrastination to avoid a project or task.
- Constantly checking emails can decrease our own value by putting another person’s needs constantly in front of our own.
- Constantly checking emails can be considered an addiction.
Though we know checking emails too frequently causes stress, how do we stop the habit?
The easiest choice, and the one that I chose for myself, was to shut off the email notification feature on my phone. Without the constant chime that I had received an email, I found I was able to stay focused and on task longer, boosting my productivity.
Another benefit was I did not reach for my phone to check my email countless times during the day. This habit did not happen overnight, but day by day I was reaching for my phone less often. Now check emails in the morning, after lunch, and at the end of the day.
If checking email only a few times a day is not possible due to the nature of work you do, check emails mid-morning and mid-afternoon along with morning, mid-day, and before you go home.
What is important to remember is to not let your email become your to-do list, a distraction, an avoidance mechanism or to dictate your business day. Check emails as necessary, but not to the point of avoiding other work or because you are prompted to via a phone’s notification.
I would love to hear how you are controlling how many times you check your emails each day.
Next post in the Productivity Series: Multitasking – The Illusion of Getting More Done.
Document referenced:
Kostadin Kushlev, Elizabeth W. Dunn. Checking email less frequently reduces stress. Computers in Human Behavior, 2015; 43: 220 DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.005
Hi, I’m Karen. Welcome to my website! I will show you how to establish the framework for an organized and successful leadership and office management system.
