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Do you check your email more often than you oughta?
Do you experience withdrawal symptoms when if you haven’t checked your email in a while?
Compulsive email checking is an unhealthy habit that keeps you from doing more important things.
Use positive reward to establish a healthier relationship to your inbox.
Email is not always productive
There are three major reasons why email is not always productive.
Not just any time you feel like checking.
Diagnose Your Problem
People do compulsive things for all sorts of reasons.
The most common reason is to avoid experiencing something particularly unpleasant.
Acknowledge Your Compulsive Habit
The next step in changing your compulsive email habit is tracking it.
Keep a tally of how many times you open your inbox.
Notice how much time you spend on average during each visit.
Keep a positive attitude in the process.
Don’t judge yourself as unproductive, unfocused, or a failure when you identify weaknesses or mistakes.
Self-punishment won’t help you make positive changes.
Simply recognize your patterns and explore what the motivations may be, as covered above.
Because the only way to address the compulsive behavior is by:
1.
Accepting that it exists
2.
Being self-honest enough to understand why
- double-check it’s visual and dynamic enough to work with.
Be extra specific on your end goal and if possible provide your reasons for selecting it.
Use objective language that keeps you focused on what’s happening and why.
More functional statements are:
make a run at list out at least five of your weaknesses.
Currently, you check it about once every twenty minutes while on the computer.
Identify the situations (real or imagined) during which you demonstrate those weaknesses.
Then in the right column, describe the situation that’s problematic.
Once you’re aware of the challenging situations, you’ll be better prepared to face them.
From now on, you’ll refer to this document to retrain how you visit your inbox.
Here’s an example.
Now, here are three potential action steps that help you overcome and/or work toward your goal:
1.
Asking a friend or colleague for help or perspective when you feel stuck.
Writing out a schedule or to-do list for your project.
Reviewing and/or revising your schedule or to-do list for your project.
Completing an item on your schedule or to-do list for your project.
But at least be mindful of what you do.
Make checking email special so that it becomes productive again.
Reward yourself for good work habits, and email won’t have to take over your work life.
