For some of us, email has been part of our daily lives for almost two decades. As such, it’s slowly become the epitome of productivity killers. While opening email only at specific times during the day sounds great in theory, the discipline required in going cold turkey is unthinkable.
So how do we not abandon email completely but avoid temptation from pop ups and that little envelope? In our office we came up with a trick that allows us to stay productive without totally letting go. We simply got rid of the notifications.
We use Microsoft Outlook and for the sake of this post, we’ll provide instructions for modifying that email application with the goal of keeping you focused on the task at hand.
To disable those distracting alerts, open Microsoft Outlook and click the following in sequence; File / Options / Mail. Then under Message arrival, uncheck all of the When messages arrive options and click OK.
You’re now free to work without the constant distraction of email notifications.
Comments