Today, is the last installment of module 3 of the Get Productive Challenge. The last several posts have been all about setting up the right systems of productivity. We will then move into the last module and see how everything works together in a daily ideal schedule.

Do you find yourself checking your email several times a day? If you have a mobile phone are you constantly looking for new messages? It is easy to get addicted to email, I know I have.

The problem is that it can be a complete time waster. All it takes is to see a message from a newsletter you subscribe to and then you click a link, and another, and another, and….you get the idea. You become lost in cyber space and several minutes have gone by. Here are 4 tips to help you get over your email addiction:

1. Turn off that email notification. The pop-up email notification reminds me of the dog on the Disney movie UP. He is going right along with life and all of a sudden turns his head and says “Squirrel!” We can be just like that when it comes to email. It is like we have EADD (Email Attention Deficit Disorder). It is not good for you to be constantly pulling away from the work at hand. Multi-tasking and focus don’t get along.

2. Decide ahead of time when to check your email. See if you can force yourself to only check your email once, twice, or three times a day. I know that might seem difficult at first, but it can be done. In fact, it makes it better because there is probably more exciting email to look at all at once if you only check it a few times a day.

3. Don’t check your email first thing in the morning. This one was a hard habit to break. The problem with checking it first thing is that you start your day down rabbit trails. Give yourself time to get things going by working on something meaningful first thing in the morning. The world will not fall apart.  I actually check mine 3 times daily (10:00, 2:00, 6:00). 10:00 allows me to tackle anything important before lunch. 2:00 gives me a chance to check in on what is going on. 6:00 (or usually before I finish work) allows me to check in and see if anything is important before the day concludes.

4. Narrow down your email inboxes. This used to be a problem for me. I had too many email addresses. You waste alot of time trying to go to each email address and login. Instead have everything funneled to one or two email addresses. Gmail allows you to select which email address you want your message to be sent from so it can look like it is coming from any email address that you want.

Get a handle on your email addiction and you will put several hours back into your life. Lastly, when you feel the urge to check your email, take a deep breath and get focused again at the task at hand.

Get It Done Now Task – Choose an Item from the Above List

My task for you is simple. Choose one or several of the above tasks related to email and do it right now! Do not delay. Take action and stop letting email be a distraction in your life. You can thank me later.