This is #4 out of 25 Tips to Become More Productive and Happy at Work.

Don’t Check Email First Thing. Unless this is required in your job, then let it go until after you’ve completed your top priority of the day. And then process email in batches, say two or three times a day.

This makes sense.  I would feel very happy if I could knock out my day’s top priority before checking email.  Unfortunately, I often feel like I have about 10 things to do in a day that are all labeled “Top Priority.” By working at them all a little at the time throughout the day, I generally finish enough of them to feel satisfied.

How do you manage your email? Do you really feel like wading through email each day decreases your contentment or productivity?  Do you have any suggestions for alternatives?

-MJ

This is #3 out of 25 Tips to Become More Productive and Happy at Work.

Turn off Your Computer. “What?!” you say. “Everything is done on my computer!” Well is it really? What percentage truly is? Plan to have your computer on only for that amount of time each day. Plan out blocks of time for different computer tasks and work from a checklist to keep you focused. Giving your eyes a rest from the screen will give you more energy for creating. Even if you just close your eyes as you think of a response to an email can help too.

A friend of mine once lived through two months without an internet connection at her apartment.  That sounds like torture, right?  Actually, she told me that after initial withdrawal pains, she thoroughly enjoyed the absence of the potentially distracting web.  She told me that without the ability to spend hours aimlessly following links around the internet and double-checking her email, she was far more productive and had so much more free time.

To limit the amount of time I spend on the computer, I sometimes deliberately unplug my laptop, so that I will have to complete all my work within the time that I still have battery power. Doing this can make you feel like you have a deadline, which can help you stay focused and avoid aimless web exploration.

In the past, such exploration has kept me awake hours beyond my bedtime.  Since I’ve instituted my battery-power time-limiting system, I’ve completed more work in shorter periods of time, and have added a few hours of sleep to most of my nights. This has definitely made me happier.

-MJ