Jujutsu Email

I check email twice a day (unless some crisis warrants more frequent checks, but that's very unusual), once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And every time I check email, I empty my inbox completely. That's right, twice a day my inbox shows "0 unread". Makes me feel like a Ninja.

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When I explain this to people, lot of people are stunned, and initially consider me a slacker. What if someone wanted to reach me at noon? I have a cellphone, and it's always on, so if it's really urgent, call me. It's like jujutsu: it sounds contradictory at first, but when you study it, it's actually quite powerful. And the more others assert their force on you (send you emails) the more powerful it becomes for you (you're not wasting those little extra minutes switching context to check those email). Everything is batch processed, and you get long uninterrupted stretches of time in between to get actual work done.

I also constantly ask myself: could I check even less often? Sometimes I won't really do a full check in the afternoon, but just a quick scan to see if there's anything important, and leave the full scan for the morning after. It works. And even more amazing is that people who have no idea how I work actually have told me they're amazed at my responsiveness!

Could I do once a week? Probably not. At least not in my current job. But I encourage you to find your minimal email-check-frequency. Big productivity boost lies ahead.

- Gummi