A few years ago, I was meeting with a client.   This was not my first time meeting the client and we had a developed a strong business relationship.  We had met several times before including meetings before I earned his business, and then on a fairly regular basis when he became my client.  Each time I met with him, I always amazed by his calm demeanor and the attention he gave to our meeting.  I was impressed because most of my other clients in similar roles to his were always somewhat preoccupied, rushed for time, and were almost always looking at their phones.  It is not that they did not see our meeting as important, they were just busy and they had lots of fires going on around them.

So during this one particular meeting with my client, we started talking about productivity and his secret to getting things done and not being reactionary to things that were happening throughout the day.  His secret…he only checked his email twice a day.  He checked his email in the morning and again at the end of the day.  He turned off the notifications and alerts and went about his day looking at his list of things to do.  At first, my question was “what if you miss an important question or request”.  He quickly told me that if someone really needed information he could be reached on his phone.  Most of the time emails that come through are quick questions that will only take a minute to answer, and many times the question could wait for an answer. When you stop to answer those quick questions you pull yourself away from the tasks you are currently involved in, and then you begin the quick cycle of losing attention and time.

Here is what I learned to help stop being a victim of email.

Check Email Twice a Day.  Start your day going through email.  Answer questions, file responses, and for things that need more attention add those to your list.  At the end of the day check for new emails and do the same as the morning.  You will be able to answer and file quickly as opposed to starting and stopping other tasks.

Teach people how to communicate with you!  When you are meeting with prospects, clients, and partners explain to them that you do not check your email on an hourly basis.  Explain to them that you do respond to email at the end of the day, and if they need immediate attention to call or text you.  Set an automated response, thank the sender for the email and advise them that you check email at the end of the day. You are informing senders that email is a great way to get you information, however if they need immediate attention they need to call you directly.  Most things can wait.

Use Email to Recap Information.  This does not mean that the end of each phone call or meeting you immediately send an email.  Take notes during the call or meeting and send a follow up email during your scheduled email time.  Take time to focus on what needs to get done and make use of email recaps during your email time.  You will be surprised how much gets done when you use email only at the designated times.

Things Get Resolved On Their Own. Have you ever been a part of email chain that creates 10 to 20 other emails?  Imagine coming on the back end of the email.   You miss the 20 emails that are exchanged and can skim through the emails to see what else if anything needs to be done.  Most of the time you are copied on the email to keep you in the loop or minimal input.  You will be amazed at how many things are taken care of and you didn’t spend an hour reading all the responses as they swarmed your inbox.

Email is a a great way to communicate.  It helps to put information and thoughts in writing.  You are able to go back and find conversations that took place in the past.  Email is a great forum to give updates and to transfer information within a group and share documents.   My problem with email is that it has the potential to completely take over my day if I allow it to.  You will be amazed when you stop a simple distraction such as email and make it a task of it’s own.