I know what you did this
morning...
Don’t worry – I’m not a
stalker! I bet I know what you did when
you got into the office this morning after you took your coat off, got a nice
cuppa, had a chat with your colleagues and then turned your computer on. You checked your email, didn’t you?
Why did you do that? Have you ever questioned why you check your
email first thing in the morning?
Probably not. I didn’t. I was as ‘guilty’ as you of this habit. But research and studies show that doing just
that has a detrimental effect on your productivity. Frequently checking your email throughout the
day can also inhibit how much you get done.
The following ‘good practice’*
with email is based not just on research, studies and advice from experts in
productivity, but also on my experiences and trial and error. Not checking my email as soon as I start the
working day has had a profound effect on what I focus on and what I get done in
the morning. So much so, I feel so
chuffed with my output in the morning, that it sets a lovely tone and mood for
the rest of my day!
[* - Note that I used the term
‘good practice’ and not ‘best practice’.
I believe that there is no best practice in how you work and how you can
improve your productivity, output and indeed your job satisfaction. What might be ‘best practice’ for me, might
not work so well for you. Also, you may adapt
and improve on a technique I have written about below that you find works much better
for you. As with all articles on ‘top
tips’ and advice, treat it like a buffet – pick n’ mix what you think are good
ideas, try it and then consume more of what works best (or indeed spit out what
you don’t like – although I try not to do that in public at buffets…another top
tip!)]
In a future blog article, I’m
going to share some advice on how to deal with ‘Email Overload’ and a process
to clearing out, and keeping clear, a daunting inbox full of tens, if not
hundreds, of emails. But in the
meantime, with so many demands on your time and with multiple people wanting
your attention, it’s no wonder you feel the urge to see what your email inbox
has in store for you when you get into the office. But try to resist this urge! Here’s why…
We check our email way too often – not just in the morning. A survey of over 2,200 workers in the UK and
USA painted an unhappy picture of the obsession many people have with their
email.
Office workers now feel more
compelled to check email outside of work to keep up and advance their
careers. A fifth of Brits who check email outside of business hours do so
because they feel they are expected to provide quick responses, even outside
regular business hours. But someone
sending an email does not usually expect a quick response (see results of
another survey of over 3,500 people below).
Almost half would like a response within a day. If they wanted a rapid answer to an issue,
they would have called you or come over to your office. So, do you really need to check your email as
soon as you get to work?
Survey:
“When Do You Expect Email Replies?”
“I
expect a reply within 10 minutes. I know they've gotten the email, so they
should respond right away” - 3%
“Sometime
within 30 minutes. Don't interrupt your flow, but get back to me ASAP” – 7%
“I
can wait about an hour; I've got other stuff to do too. Just get back to me
sooner rather than later” – 9%
“As
long as they respond within a few hours, I'm happy. If it were that urgent, I
could walk over to them or call them” - 27%
“I
expect an answer within the day. Any longer than that, and I have no way of
knowing if they even got it” - 48%
Other
- 6%
|
Even though almost half of us
don’t expect a response so quickly, paradoxically 45% of us are afraid
to go without checking their email because they might miss something important. In fact, 14% of the respondents to the
survey who check work email outside of regular business hours cited that they
do work email either before they get out
of bed in the morning or while in bed before they fall asleep at
night! It’s clear that many people are
becoming obsessed with checking email first thing in the morning. But this bad habit will probably make you
work less effectively.
Why? It boils down to this: if you start going
through your inbox first thing in the morning, you lose any chance you had of
going full steam ahead on your important project or task of the morning. You immediately start the working day by distracting
yourself with everyone else's needs.
As soon as you get to your desk,
work on something important for 30-45 minutes (discuss with your boss what this is if you’re not sure), and only then check your email. If you can stand it, wait even longer. Some
days I personally don't check email at all until after lunch...and I have a iPhone
where I can receive emails 24/7 wherever I am!
As long as you're ignorant of
everything else that's going on outside, you can concentrate on what you want
to work on – and what’s important for you and your job role. You don't know what fires need to be put out
that you can’t affect anyway, you don't know about that the cakes that are in
the kitchen, and you don't know about that funny video your colleague sent
you.
In general, you
should already identify what you need to work on when you start your day.
If you start checking email, you will move to one of a million other things
that supposedly need your attention instead, when they're probably less
important.
Managing Expectations – letting others know
If what you have just read
resonates with you and you are going to try not checking emails first thing in
the morning, then it is a good idea to let others know what you are doing –
especially your boss (if you have one)!
Your office is probably very close to them and so you might have already
got a system in place to deal with urgent issues – usually the one that
involves him or her barging in!
To help control their email
impulse in the morning, some people have adopted the discipline of checking
their emails at set times during the day – e.g. at 11am and 4pm. This is an example of ‘batching’ tasks
(performing like tasks at set times, between which you let them accumulate),
and your success with batching will depend on two factors:
1. Your ability to train others
to respect these intervals and, much more difficult,
2. Your ability to discipline yourself
to follow your own rules
As well as your boss, you might
want to let others know of your new way of working with regards to email. Just like any other way of communication,
doing this face-to-face is often the best way so you can explain what you are
doing and why. You might even convince
this other person to try it themselves!
Some people let others know
through their email auto-responder (the ‘out of office’ message system). An example auto-responder, which you can
tailor to your requirements, is:
“Thank you for
your email. In an effort to increase
productivity and efficiency, I am trying out a new personal email policy. I am only checking emails at 11am and 4pm. If you need anything immediately, please call
me on 01555 555555 so that I can address this important matter with you. Thank
you. ~ Sue”
Be mindful that this
out-of-office message will to everyone
who sends you an email – unless your particular email system can send different
messages to people within your business and other emails coming from outside. You might not want people from other
organisations knowing you are doing this.
In which case, you can just send a memo to those people that you would
like to inform of your new email checking policy. An example memo is:
“Dear all,
In an effort
to increase productivity and efficiency, I am beginning a new personal email
policy. I’ve recently realised that I spend more time shuffling through my
inbox and less time focused on the task at hand. It has become an unnecessary
distraction that ultimately creates longer lead times on my ever-growing ‘to
do’ list.
Going forward
I will only be checking/responding to email at 11am and 4pm on weekdays. I will
try and respond to email in a timely manner.
If you need an
immediate time-sensitive response, please don’t hesitate to call me on 01555
555555 or pop into the office.
Hopefully this
new approach to email management will result in shorter lead-times with more
focused and productive work on my part.
Kind regards,
Sue”
-o-
Remember that all of the above
are just options in the ‘buffet’. They
have worked for myself and many others, and they could do so for you as
well. You don’t have to be so drastic
and do all of the above at once. You
could start by just checking your emails less frequently. Try it and see!
