If you are anything like me, checking and responding to email can often take a large chunk of your day. As a sole proprietor, I am more than ever struggling with time management on a daily basis. Though I have improved my time management skills tremendously over the last year, I can’t seem to keep up with the growing amount of things that need to be managed.
Where My [Email] Time Goes
I haven’t actually analyzed the exact statistics of what type of emails my time is spent most on, but here is a qualitative observation of the types of emails that clog my time:
- Twitter notifications
- Newsletters
- Voice mails
- Family
- Other
- Clients
Notice how “other” comes before “clients”? Yeah, that’s not good. For time management, for the interest of my clients and their projects. It just. Isn’t. Good.
Knight On The White Horse
At this point, I needed a savior of sorts, even if it was only me saving me from myself. Email had become more of an addiction and less of a tool used only when needed. Luckily, there’s an app for that. It’s called AwayFind. Though it is still in Beta, it packs a serious punch. This screenshot says it all, or most of it anyway.
I’m Freaking Out!
For years I have always had a tab open in my browser for Gmail. It is always the first tab, and no matter what I am doing or working on in the web, I would consistently look up every few minutes (or seconds, if I was expecting something important) to see if there was a new email. And, even if I were using another program, or if I were working away from the computer, I would have my phone ready and waiting to alert me if there were a new email. As of a few moments ago, I closed the tab and changed my phone settings so that I am now only alerted if there is something urgent. I even created an “urgent” email address on my server specifically for urgent emails so that I can be notified.
I must say, I have mixed feelings. I feel like a junkie on their first day of rehab. However, I’m certain that this is the best thing for me. I’m curious as to just how much time will be freed up simply because I’m not constantly in contact with the cyber world.
A Glimpse of Freedom
So far I haven’t yet been bothered with any emails. I’ve been able to write this entire post without being interrupted. I’ve vowed to myself to only check my email twice a day, once at the beginning and again at the end of my work day. I’m still waiting to see if the filters that I have set up actually work. Hopefully I’m not forgetting anyone! If I am, I’m sure they can wait until the EOD. I’ll most likely write up an actual analysis of how it works for me in the near future, so check back soon.
Thanks for the review, Ann! I’m AwayFind’s founder and I really hope it does manage to keep you away from your email–if I can help at all with tips or ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out!