Multiple Inboxes

When you hear the word “inbox,” what comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you probably think of your email. But in today’s always-online world, email is only one of many attention-hogging inboxes.

Your other inboxes can include texts, instant message, your organization’s collaboration app, and even a thought that just popped into your head.

These do not even include the attentional black hole that we call “social media.” All these things can easily become productivity killers if not managed intentionally.

FACTS:

You already have more than one inbox. You just may not call it that.
Any inbox, by its very nature, is an Attention Hijacker.
Any inbox is as addictive as smoking cigarettes.

Inboxes have a powerful addictive potential. Checking and answering your messages delivers a dopamine hit, whether it’s via email, Slack or any other tool.

Think of how much time you spend dealing with email every day. Now multiply that across two, three, or more “Inboxes”. If they are not properly managed, you can get side-swiped by an Attention Hijackers and slowly fall into reactive mode.

SOLUTIONS:

Limit the number of times you check your messages on all apps – including email.

Make use of offline and “do-not-disturb” mode.

Turn off your notifications! Nothing destroys your focus more than a buzz or ding.

“In the past, only a few professions — doctors, plumbers perhaps, emergency service technicians, prime ministers — required this kind of state of being constantly on call. Now, almost all of us live this way.”

– John Freeman, award-winning writer and book critic