Time Management Tip- Ignore Email and Focus
Email is one of our biggest distractions. Do NOT start the day with email. Instead, start with a clear focus on what you most need to get done that day for finance-building and results-driven activities.
Make a list of your top 6 priorities and tackle those first. This is the same principle Charles Schwab used at Bethlehem Steel: a consultant asked his executives to write down the six most important things to accomplish each day, rank them, and work through them in order, starting with the most important. Within three months, efficiency improved so much that Schwab paid the consultant $35,000, an enormous sum at the time, for the idea.
Check email only at specific times a day, and turn off notifications that alert you to every tweet or email. Every incomplete task and every interruption pulls a small amount of energy away from what actually matters. Manage your time and be effective by checking email on your schedule, not the other way around.
Key Takeaways
- Decide your top 6 priorities before opening email, and work them in order.
- Notifications turn your day over to whoever happens to be emailing or tweeting you.
- Checking email on a set schedule, rather than constantly, is a discipline, not a personality trait.
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