A colleague recently told me that in order to be truly efficient at work, workers needed to spend less time on e-mail. His suggestion was that people only check their e-mail once, or at most, twice a day (I’m thinking morning and evening was his general idea) and spend the rest of the time doing other work-related tasks. While I had a good chuckle over his recommendation, it got me to thinking—could I work and only check my e-mail once a day?
Well, I think the answer is NO. But, I have been able to go without e-mail access for several days while on vacation and have actually enjoyed it. I was amazed at how peaceful and “old school” I felt not having to be connected and responsive all the time. But, then again, I was not working. I remember that over ten years ago when e-mail first started to become prevalent, friends would actually have to call me on the telephone to tell me they had sent me an e-mail so that I could go check it out! I just couldn’t get used to the idea that I should be checking my e-mail regularly. Now, I can’t imagine not checking it several times a day—especially when I’m working.
If I worked some place where there was a “rule” that e-mail could only be checked twice a day (there’s no way I could do it only once!) I could probably adjust. Thank goodness, we’re talking about my own home business here where I can keep a window open with my e-mail inbox displayed for the entire day. Too much happens (and, yes, there’s plenty of spam and distractions, too) and I would like to think my business efforts benefit from my quick responses to e-mails. What do you think? Could you check your e-mail only once a day?
See Also: Is it Time To Clean Out Your Computer Files and E-mail Inbox?
Can You Work When Your Computer is Down?