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““Concentration is the key to economic results.
No other principles of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration.”
A client told me last year of a story about his 9 year old son.
When asked what his father did for a living he replied with:
“He answers emails.”
While a funny anecdote, my client admitted that it was closer to the truth than he would have liked.
The reality is that people everywhere are reporting that the sheer volume of email they receive is overwhelming, taking a huge chunk of time out of their day.
We feel obliged to answer our emails, but for most it seems impossible to do so AND get anything else of real value done.
Here are 3 tips I share when it comes to email:
1. Remove PhoneApp, Disable Notifications:
It’s too easy and far too tempting to access your email on your phone. So remove your email app from your phone. Yes, delete it. 🙂 Then go to your desktop and laptop and disable all of the notifications. Both actions will protect you from distraction – the enemy of concentration.
2. Dedicated Email Time:
Only look at your email at defined times of the day for a specific length of time. Initially you’ll find this hard to do, but it’s a game changer if you stick with it.
3. Ask this question regularly:
What are the key results I’m paid to get?
You won’t find ‘answer emails’ on the list of your top outcomes. (unless your job is actually answering emails in customer service or similar…)
Getting clear on what matters most, really – is essential to success in whatever you do.
It’s never been easier to be busy and going nowhere.
How we manage our email plays a big part in that.
Have a great week,
Shane
PS – Too much email takes away time. But it also really damages our most important asset – the inner clarity and presence which drives our focus, creativity and confidence.
We have to shift away from the industrial era model for managing ourselves into a new digital era. That’s why I created MindShift – my 8 week live and interactive virtual program.
Registration closes over the coming days. It might the right time for you to join me.
Do you know someone who would benefit from reading this? Feel free to share it with them. To make this super simple, I’ve included some share buttons a little further down this page.
