This is a place for displaying some concepts of the Sherpa System.
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Never Check Email
in the Morning
Have you ever walked into the office (or woke up), opened your email, and instantly felt overwhelmed? Have you started to reply? Did you change anything in your plan for the day based on something you saw? The sheer volume of emails we receive can make us feel like we’re out of control, reducing the clearness we woke up with. That’s why you should never check email in the morning.
When we log into our email, our priorities shift. The most important tasks are displaced by the most urgent or convenient. We lose our sense of proportion, and scramble to complete every action item, lest some insignificant task fall through the cracks.
When you wake up in the morning – even if you haven’t planned for the day – you probably already have a good idea of what the most important thing to do is. So do it.
FACTS:
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Our inbox is a lure for the Urgency and Convenience Traps.
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The average diversion time caused by an email is 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
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For 82% of people, the early morning is when they’re at their cognitive peak. This is the time for mentally-demanding tasks, not email.
If that’s not enough reason to avoid your inbox in the morning, consider this: according to research at the University of Chicago, the average email distracts us for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Afterwards, study participants lost an additional 16 minutes due to Attention Residue.
When I’m climbing, I need to be totally focused – even if it’s just a short morning climb. I won’t start my day with distracting emails, and I set the expectation in my email signature to call me if it’s something urgent. But between you and me, I don’t answer my phone when I’m climbing, either.
SOLUTIONS:
Start your day with a high-value activity, and clear – not “check” – your inbox later.
When you do clear your inbox, use the Sherpa P.A.C.T. System to get it done quickly.
If you must check email in the morning – for example, to check for canceled meetings – do it on a mobile device where you can scan subject lines without being tempted to reply.
“Email is familiar. It's comfortable. It's easy to use. But it might just be the biggest killer of time and productivity in the office today.”
– Ryan Holmes,
Entrepreneur and CEO of Hootsuite
