{"id":42259,"date":"2021-07-23T10:25:48","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T14:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=42259"},"modified":"2021-07-30T13:48:43","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T17:48:43","slug":"distracted-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/distracted-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Distracted at Work? Cut Down on Your Email Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Does your work often get interrupted by emails or group chats from coworkers? Is there a polite way to put off answering emails?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest distractors at work is email. Reading and responding to emails takes a lot of time, not to mention that switching tasks makes your work take even longer to complete. Thankfully, Nir Eyal came up with a solution that will reduce your email distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is Nir Eyal’s advice for when you get distracted at work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Email Distractions at Work <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re distracted at work, reducing the number of emails you receive each day will drastically reduce the amount of time you spend in your inbox. The second step is to set up a system that reduces the amount of time you spend responding to those you do<\/em> let through. The most efficient way to deal with your emails is by going through them in batches during dedicated email timeboxes, rather than dealing with them as they come in. <\/strong>Processing your email in this way has two advantages: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. This reduces the number of times your brain needs to switch between tasks (meaning you lose \u201crefocusing time\u201d once, instead of many times throughout the day).<\/li>
  2. You can schedule<\/em> it\u2014so that it becomes the thing you mean to do, instead of the thing dragging you away from what needs to get done. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Make your batch-processing as efficient as possible by <\/strong>eliminating the need to check emails repeatedly.<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>Many people open messages, scan the contents, reply to anything urgent, and then leave everything else for later. By the next<\/em> time you check your email, you\u2019ve forgotten what the \u201ceverything else\u201d emails said, so you open them again. This happens every time you check your email\u2014you read the same emails, multiple times a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The main reason you read emails multiple times is to discern exactly when you need to reply to them\u2014fix the issue by categorizing your emails by reply urgency. To do this, create two email tags: \u201cToday\u201d and \u201cThis Week.\u201d Each time you check your email, answer anything that needs an immediate reply, then tag the rest to be answered during your email timebox later in the day or later in the week. This system ensures that you only read each email twice: when you initially receive it and when you reply. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Distracting Group Chat<\/strong>s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Having a group chat feature at work can be helpful for chatting about ideas or getting quick answers, but it\u2019s also distracting in several ways. First, the messages you\u2019re receiving all day are from different people, in different channels, about different subjects\u2014essentially, part of your brain is in numerous meetings covering diverse topics all day, while you\u2019re trying to focus on your own work. Second, many people use group chat to fire off thoughts one sentence at a time. Receiving ideas as a stream of consciousness can make you feel frazzled, and the constant message alerts don\u2019t help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Create Group Chat Guidelines<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Set three rules around your group chat use so that it shows up in your workday as a tool for traction<\/em>, rather than invading your workday as a distraction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1) Use Group Chat Sparingly <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    While the real-time feature of group chat can be useful and engaging, think of it as you would any other real-time communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n