Lately, I’ve been closely examining my day to identify non-essential activities. At this point in my essentialist existence, this is not an easy task as I’ve already removed much of the non-essential.
The other day, I started thinking about how I interact with my email — and I quickly realized I’d been using it in a very non-essentialist way. In other words, I give it too much attention early on in the day, when my brain power is at its height.
I also noticed that email alerts were acting as interruptions when I was focused on important tasks, like my book or client work.It made me wonder: what happens if I restructure ALL email correspondence to 3pm or after?
In general this sounded like a good idea, but there were two caveats … if a potential new client got in touch via email, or filled out one of my forms, I don’t want them waiting until 3pm (or later) to hear back from me. Scanning for (actual) client emergencies is also something I need to be on the lookout for. So, I devised that before my mid-day lunch break I would scan my email for these types of items so I could respond right away.
But everything else that isn’t as time sensitive will be addressed at 3pm.So far, this test has proven to be successful in helping me stay focused on the essential, without getting sucked into non-essential tasks the can wait a bit before I address them.
How about you? Does your email have you leading a non-essential day?
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