Wednesdays are hump day. We are all trying to get there, make it through the week! But it seems hard. Email checking is one feeble but failed attempt. I , like many, feel like checking my email, but I know that my Inbox bursting with emails is a Pandora box. Once it is open, hours of productivity get lost in the slew of “this is urgent!”, “This is important!”, “This seems worth paying attention to!” “OoooHHh! This looks sooo interesting!” Does it sound like you?
The old time management adage, “Never Check Your Emails First,” has become a classic of modern work productivity. The advice, based on the work of Julie Morgenstern, has influenced many of us to make changes to our daily routines.
If you work from home, it is common to check your email first thing in the morning. This can be a good habit to develop, but it can also have negative effects on your productivity.
Why Checking Emails 1st Thing in the Morning is Actually Counterproductive
It is true that emails can be sent late at night or early in the morning by bosses or supervisors. Therefore, it makes sense to check your email the 1st thing in the morning in order to set your priorities of the day. Isn’t it?
Actually No! The truth, however, is that this strategy has a counterproductive effect on the productivity of most people. Why?
In actuality, email inboxes are a way to track other people’s agenda. Email messages are usually full of deadlines, invitations to meetings, and requests to weigh in on important priorities. This means:
Others’ Agenda Sidelining Yours
Your personal productivity agenda gets sidelined if there is an email from your supervisor or boss requiring you to take care of a certain thing, a task, a project, a report, a feedback, or follow-up.
Feeling Stressed
You would naturally become alert and somewhat stressed and whatever else that you had planned for the day would slide under. Your natural rhythm and pace and motivation would get affected.
False Sense of Accomplishment
Checking out and responding emails can take up more time and energy than we need or realize. When you get overwhelmed, you may feel the urge to check your email to feel productive. Consequently, checking out full mail inboxes can make you feel as though you’ve already accomplished something.
Email Checking – A Form of Escape
Checking emails are one of the most distracting activities that people encounter. It is a form of escape from something seemingly important looming on our heads. This may also lead to an endless cycle of checking email at odd hours of the day, thus, it is a form of procrastination.
Personal Emails, Subscriptions can be Distracting (Unimportant)
The habit of checking your personal emails the first thing in the morning may be detrimental to your productivity, as it causes you to get distracted. In case, there are no emails from your higher-ups, there would be other emails, something from your friend, a newsletter, a promotional offer that would lead you astray.
There would be times eve when a seemingly important email will contain nothing new and will only consume your time.
When to Check Your Emails and How
Usually, in the mornings, we are mellow and distracted, just warming up. Checking up important emails may make you miss important information due to lack of concentration.
It’s important to prioritize the tasks that are more important than responding to your emails. If you have a lot to do in the morning, check your email later in the day. Noons work for me, when I take a quick coffee break and check my emails alongside.
Set a Timer
Even when it is absolutely necessary to check and/or respond to your emails, do it, but don’t spend more time than necessary. To enforce this, set a timer to check email. This way you can control how much time you dedicate to this activity.
Toggle Between Working and Checking Emails
It is important to set a pace of the day: Work on a meaningful task for at least 30 minutes, and don’t open your inbox until after lunch. Then, take the time to reply to any emails that are important. Then, you can move on to something else.
Do Something More Productive
Even when you open you inbox after a while, you would still end up spending way too much time into it, time that could be utilized in something more productive, like a small coffee break, connecting with a coworker in person.
The Take Aways
Emails are important part of our personal and professional communication and way to stay in touch. But checking emails first thing in the morning can be counterproductive. A system for email checking is a great way to improve your productivity. It will also help you keep track of your work, keep you accountable, and set clear expectations and boundaries with your co-workers.
