According to all the articles I've read recently on this subject, says that it is the worst possible thing you can do for your productivity and I had started to feel the exact same thing. Being a database consultant in an IT firm is quite a worry as your inbox keeps flooding with urgent emails from your clients throughout your day. And it very much makes sense - it's hard to get your day on the right track when you start it with a livestream of what other people want from you.
I really wish Outlook would've scanned through our inboxes and prioritized the emails based on their importance. Like, "Email from Mark requesting a solution not in your scope exactly. Auto-forwarding it to the other team." Or say, "Diana needs the report ASAP. Based on past requests from Diana, you've 2 weeks to complete." However, the reality check here is that it all comes to you without any tags - it is you who needs to sort them out into different categories of importance.
And to say the least, checking off emails/task lists no matter how trivial they are, is very addictive - at least to me. Completing and responding to emails gives me a shot of dopamine each time.
However the ramifications can be quite a bit of this ticking-off-list mentality when it comes to leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle. So I vowed for a week that I wouldn't open my email until I start my work. Did I survive? Let's see..
On the very first day, my instincts threatened to ruin my plan even before it started. I almost reached over and grabbed my phone and stopped myself in the nick of time. I jumped out of bed and started my day. However, I couldn't stop thinking of those "URGENT!" emails that I was missing out during the entire morning. And then when I started my work that day, and checked my emails, the only thing I realized was that I had received almost 20 emails and zero of them were urgent.
The next day, my much calmer mind allowed me to do my workouts with limited anxiety. And as soon as I opened my emails when I started my work, I was immediately able to distinguish between the important and the trivial ones and could really make a plan to execute them in order.
As the days passed, my ability to prioritize the tasks at my work and also to make time for other important personal things improved. I now had time for my health, my family and also my work and could do each of them with dedication and could put my whole heart and mind into them. I've now learned to compartmentalize my life into professional and personal boundaries. I've now learned to live in the present. This has not only made me more efficient at work but also improved my health and relationships to a great extent. I am also able to do the things I love without getting distracted at my leisure and this really helped improve my overall mental health. (When I say this I really mean it because I am writing my blog after a year most of which I've spent checking out work emails at my leisure!)
So, going forward I will definitely stick to this and do things during the time when it needs to be done. I will do my yoga and workouts in the morning which renders me with immense joy. I will whole-heartedly cook my meals and eat them without letting my mind wander to things I have to accomplish in the future. And when I start my work, I would accomplish my tasks one after another quite fervidly.
It is quite surprising how a little bit of self-reflection which we often tend to shun, can change our entire lives and our surroundings for the better.
