Productivity Tip Of The Day
Posted: April 11th, 2010 | Author: Soren Macbeth | View CommentsTurn off the new message indicator light on your mobile device.
If your anything like me, you get a lot of emails. Add to that SMS, Facebook or Twitter updates, and my new message indicator is almost always flashing or beeping. In order to stay on top of this torrent of information, it feels like I need to react to that little light every time that it lights up. Regardless or what is going on, when I see that light, I compulsively react to it.
Today I made a simple change that has had an out-sized impact on my productivity and general stress level: I turned off the indicator light. Now I pick up my phone when I have a few minutes to kill, tackle what is there and move on.
I strongly urge you to try this simple change today.
Hell yes. I turn off all notifications from whatever e-mail app I'm using — sometimes I'm on OS X and sometimes Windows at work; it all depends on the project — and just have about four 15-minute e-mail sessions per workday, and it's a huge boost in getting actual work done.