Some say 6, 7; I say 12 and 4!
This idea is from Tim Ferriss. I read this over 10 years ago and I keep coming back to it over and over again.
Tim’s advice is simple- we get more time by eliminating things. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean we miss out on things, it just means we are smarter about what we get rid of and when. So it becomes possible to have your cake and eat it.
Like most, I sometimes feel like I’m a professional email responder. My email inbox is a GREAT place to go if I want to feel ‘productive’.
The problem with that is we are being reactive to the needs and the to do lists of other people. I open my inbox and suddenly an hour and a half would disappear.
My day becomes a continuous stream of processing the request that leak in from people whenever they feel like sending me an email. Over time, this removes my energy and ability to do what’s important and non-urgent to me.
Tim suggests instead we batch our emails, let them accumulate and check them only twice a day.
So I check my email at 12pm and 4pm. That’s it.
The amazing thing is, when I go to my inbox with the singular focus of processing what’s there- it takes all of 15 minutes. Its because I’m a lot clearer on my own priorities and can cut through them quickly. I’m also not kidding myself thinking I will split focus between what I’m doing and the emails as they come in- I am focussed solely on the inbox during these chunks.
The unexpected thing was I found it hard to wait! I had become so used to the magical task-giving inbox that I almost needed it.
“Oh! I wonder what emails I have!”
It became a discipline of it’s own not to check it outside of my allocated times.
I had become addicted to having an instant task someone gives me with a finite end!
When I feel productivity waining, I can pretty much guarantee it’s because this habit has slipped.
When I want to reconnect again to powerful focus on what actually moves the needle on the work that really matters to me, I go back to 12 and 4.
When in doubt, 12pm and 4pm.
