The Addictive Lure Of The Inbox

Opening up your email or any type of inbox pinging, including messaging, can be thrilling and addictive. Who wants to talk to me? What good news are they bringing, or even better, what interesting gossip are they willing to share? That's why the most common sight in a public place these days is people with heads down tapping away. Sure, they're reading news or looking at Facebook, but mostly it's all about the instant gratification of someone reaching out to them.

But once the initial thrill is gone, inboxes turn straight into drudgery. There are usually requests to answer, things to do and decisions to be made. And it never, ever ends. How annoying are those people who once you respond send you something right back and now you have to respond again? (In some ways I feel bad if I do respond right away. But then also gleeful that the ball is back in their court. Ha!)

So this may be the most boring post I have ever written, but I hope it is helpful. If you, like me, like hearing how other people wrangle with the admin tasks of modern life, read on. I have wrestled with my messaging strategy and here's what works for me.  

1. I do check email first thing in the morning.
Read any article about productivity and the one big no-no is checking and responding to emails first thing in the morning. The worry is that if you do this, you'll never get to the really important things you need to get done for the day. But I can't get on with my day in a productive fashion if I have all these unanswered requests waiting for me in my inbox. Also, if I know I have work to get on with it makes me zip through my inbox much faster, instead of the more leisurely pace I might take if I do it when I don't have urgent tasks awaiting my attention.

2. I have adopted the so-called 'batch processing' method.
(Sounds thrilling, no?) This means that you go through your inbox and then that's it. You don't check or respond in-between the set times you have for processing emails. Of course with work I have to cheat a bit because urgent requests could come in. So I have Outlook set up with the function where I get a preview of incoming messages in the right-hand corner of my screen. It's easy for me to assess whether something needs to dealt with straight away or can be answered after lunch (the next time I try to tackle my inbox). At the end of the day, I reply to anything absolutely necessary and do a tidy up -- deleting any junk mail that's come in during the afternoon -- before heading home.

3. I treat texts and instant messaging differently. Instantly.
Because these messages are generally shorter, I try to reply straight away even if I'm really busy when I see it come in. I never used to do this -- my chronic procrastination was really chronic -- even when I knew it would take only a few seconds. Now I just do it as a rule because it normally takes so little time and then I don't have to remember later. And yes, sometimes I do get caught up in conversations back and forth, but it never takes up as much time as I think it will. And if I don't know the answer, I reply saying so, and then add whatever I need to figure out to my to-do list. Then I don't have to worry about remembering.

I generally find when I don't have unanswered messages hanging over my head, I can just get on with other things with a clearer less-stressed mind.

Do you have rules for email and messaging? Or is it just not a problem for you?

Related Posts:

• Later Never Comes
• Hesitation Builds Resistance 

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Making Peace With Red Tape

I have finally finished my U.S. taxes. Well, I have finally finished gathering together the materials to do them, so that I could send them to my tax preparer. (Doing my U.S. taxes as an expat is clearly out of the question. I am still traumatized by my Dad making me do them when I was in college and I had to try to figure out how to account for share sales that were paying my tuition).

Life is full of red tape. There's always something you need to be doing admin-wise. Whether it's making a dentist appointment, figuring out how the heck to send a postal ballot in the U.K., applying for a mortgage or doing your taxes, it will probably never cease. There are thank-you notes to send, birthday cards to write and garbage to take out. Living in a society with other peoples comes with all sorts of rules and responsibilities this way. Even dying requires a certain amount of admin.

I've started making a sort of truce with red tape. Not sure if I'm at peace with it yet, but the light bulb has finally gone on and I've realized that putting things off doesn't make them go away and instead creates more pain. Playing catch-up is always a grind. So why do so many of us keep things on our to-do list for ages, taunting us?

I was thinking about it last night and realized that sometimes completing things frightens me. When things are all done, beds are made and the admin is under control, what's left? If I didn't have silly things to worry about, would I be faced with the really scary things – the fears that I don't particularly like sitting with?

Ironically, having all sorts of admin hanging over my head avoids a certain amount of discomfort. Clearing away all the excess clutter leaves me alone with whatever is there (whatever that is). I suppose it's a little like meditation. Just sitting there, doing nothing, alone with your thoughts. No wonder people turn the other direction when you start talking about meditation.

But the flip side – and the less scary side – is that when you do clear away all the clutter of life, you can also find the space to focus. You can touch base with the uncomfortable stuff and then make choices about what's actually important.

But practically, how do you get started on clearing all the admin away?

What has helped me is finding some time to focus on it – a scheduled time. Setting aside a specific time does two things – it makes sure you stay focused when you're doing it and also it gives your brain space to do other things when it's not the time to do admin.

For example, when I do manage to get up early (at 6 a.m.), I'm not actually ready to do creative things, but I've found that I am really good at clearing my inbox and sorting out other tasks like bills, online grocery shopping or figuring out how to get to an upcoming country wedding by train. I prefer to get serious writing done instead after work and before dinner. Also, starting the day with admin sorted makes it much easier to really concentrate on work at 9 a.m.

Another thing I do is set aside some time on Sunday nights to go through the stack of papers that has accumulated throughout the week (mail, magazines, odd scraps of paper with lists scribbled on them, etc.). I file away important bits and decide what to chuck. That means during the week I can open my mail without worrying too much about it. I can just put it in the pile if it can wait until Sunday. I know piling things is another form of procrastination, but I'm OK with only sorting it out once a week (hey, nobody's perfect).

Also, if I have a bigger project I want to do, such as cleaning out a closet, or putting together a flat-packed piece of furniture (don't get me started on how long this actually takes – I am never ordering furniture in pieces again), I schedule it in. Block out a Saturday afternoon. Just like I would do with a social engagement. If you want to de-clutter your life and your brain, you have to build in the time.

Obviously, you have to be your own expert and find what works for you. But before you just sigh and forget about it, thinking red tape is the bug bear impossible to conquer, it's worth examining what it is that keeps you from actually dealing with annoying admin. And what you could gain by getting it under control.

Related Posts:

• Silly Stress
• The Art Of De-Cluttering
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Email: Channeling Josephine

I excel at checking my email. Responding is another matter.

Back when I was about 14 or so (I can't remember exactly, although I'm sure the technology should place it if you're curious), my oldest and dearest friend and I sat in my parents' basement typing messages back and forth on separate computers that my techie folks had hooked up via a LAN (local area network).

We thought this was amazing. In fact, we couldn't believe it – we could type messages back and forth to each other on computers, without having to pass notes back and forth like in class at school. I should note, we were sitting right next to each other. Who we were afraid of hearing us talk while we sat in my parents' basement, I had no idea.

I think if you had told us that someday we would type messages back and forth on our computers (and eventually phones) – instantaneously – while I was living in London and she was living in New York, we would have fainted dead away. Not to mention the fact that I would someday live in another country!

(It's good I had no idea – I'm sure I would have thought that my life would be much more exciting than it actually is.)

Email has changed our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Good ways. As an ex-pat living far away from my friends and family in the US (and elsewhere in the world) it is much easier knowing I have an easy way to chat with them. If I really need to speak to my Mom, although she's a very busy lady who runs an IT department (did the early implementation of the LAN give anything away?), I know she's got her blackberry with her at all times and I can email her and she'll get it straight away. It's nice having that lifeline.

But the instantaneous nature of email can be stressful. You fire off a bunch and feel caught-up and efficient, with time to put on some lip gloss. And then, nearly two seconds later, your inbox is suddenly populated with bolded items again! Like weeds, or stray hairs, getting rid of them is never done.

I particularly like Leo Babauta's take on email. He recently posted some of his greatest hits on simple living and I think his email one (Email Sanity: How to Clear Your Inbox When You're Drowning) is definitely worth a read.

The problem with email, in my case, is I'm very good at checking it – responding promptly and doing it without feeling stressed is the hard part. I think Babauta hits the nail on the head – you have to actually check it less often to make it more manageable. If every time you click on that program or check your phone, your goal is to actually empty and deal with the items in your inbox, it's much more manageable.

When we check and check and check, we are waiting for something to entertain us and provide a break from whatever it is that we're doing (and often don't want to be doing). We are seeking distraction. And really, we are not actually dealing with our email correspondence. I think it might be fair to say it's an addiction? Or at least a bad habit.

I like to think of the Empress Josephine, Napoleon's wife. Every morning she dealt with her correspondence. It was just the way things were done – you read what came in that day and wrote responses. You didn't run out to look for the postman every 10 minutes.

I'm going to try to channel her as I attempt to get my inbox under control.

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