Just kidding… but don’t check it as often. The same goes for Twitter, Facebook and all those other avenues of virtual communication.
The constant ping of incoming messages leaves you distracted and unfocused when allowed to stream in unchecked. Consider less frequent and shorter breaks to read and follow up on your feeds. You’ll find that very few email messages warrant your immediate attention. Likewise, unless you’re a journalist looking for breaking news, the latest Tweets and Facebook status updates don’t need to be read the moment they’re delivered.
Don’t think electronic communication is stealing untold minutes of your day? You might be surprised. For me, the byproduct of test-driving a journaling software program was a hard look at the hours I spend using email and the web. Chronories thoroughly recorded processes on my computer and noted the contacts I made via email. When presented as a graph over the hours of the day, it was enough to make a person wince.
Quitting email and my browser for a few hours at a time has resulted in a new serenity, or at least made for longer periods of productivity almost every day. It’s not easy to unplug, sign out or log off, but connecting with your own thoughts for awhile is a good thing. So good, I had to log on to tell you about it.
Inspired by Living 