A challenge for you.

As I'm sure all our loyal readers know by now, there's a crazy amount of work to be done at Tiber River these days.  Not only is the holiday season upon us (and our products are selling like hotcakes, which is great but means even more work), but Michelle and I are smack dab, right in the very heart of huge business restructuring and organizing.  I've been finding myself really challenged to get things done because I am constantly being sucked into the day to day stuff, the things that drag me down, pull me away and focus my attention elsewhere.  I then find it doubly hard to get back into the work I should be doing to grow this business.  So, I've devised a plan that I've been following for the last week - I ONLY check my emails three times a day.  Yes, you heard me right - ONLY three times a day!  I know, have I gone crazy?  Fallen off my rocker?  Finally sucummed to the pressures of entrepreneurship?  Oh yeah, that happened long ago, but really, it's been an amazing, eye opening week and I can't believe what this experiment has taught me.

I've learned that:

a) I have an addiction to checking my email.

b) Email has become my default task - ie. I automatically check it when returning to my desk, from a meeting, outing, trip to the bathroom - you get the idea.

c) I sometimes use it to hide out from my more important work (Well, I'm answering my emails so I'm busy working - that other stuff will have to wait.")

d) Most importantly, I learned that my email can wait.  At the end of the day, my emails are answered PLUS, much more work is done!  I have found myself more productive and happier, although the first few days were a bit uncomfortable and I was oddly distracted by my lack of distractions.

So, here is my challenge for you....

Check and handle your email first thing when you get to work and then do not look at it again until just after lunch.  Check and handle them again but do not check again until a half hour or so before leaving (depending on the amount of emails you usually get in a few hour period).  For those of you who work from home, this may be harder to do but if you turn off the email notifications (really, do you need to know every single time an email comes through?), and focus on the important stuff.

And then..... (don't pass out when I say this), once you've mastered this, drop the lunch time check and only check emails twice a day!  Let me know how you've done - and good luck.  If you can do this, it WILL change how productive you are.  I promise!

Comments

[Michelle Lalonde]

I have been trying to do the same thing and it really helps! As usual we are on the same page!