Free Email Tip!
Turn off your desktop notifier
This is an extract from '8 Email Tips to save you email time and stop common email mistakes' get all 8 tips free when you complete our online survey - email at work - it takes just 10 minutes to complete.The desktop notifier is the worst offender when it comes to wasting your time at work. This clever little mechanism, which pops up on your screen to tell you that you have received an email, is actually designed to interrupt you.
Do yourself and your boss a favour—turn it off.
Why does it save time for me?We’ve made this the first tip because it is the most important. A basic tenant of work productivity is that you plan your day, you consider which tasks are most important and attend to them in a sensible order. The email notifier throws all that control and efficiency out of the window.
Why does it save time for my boss?
Your employer wants you to be productive at work. Having to deal instantly with every email that enters your Inbox is no way to control your day. Your boss does not want you to waste time during the working day, They want an environment which encourages you to focus on tasks.
If this sounds like heresy, consider why we like the notifier. The desktop notifier fulfils the culture of instant gratification. We want to make sure that we know everything first, and are on top of every email entering our Inbox. This is no way to run your life, and for most office workers, no way to run your job. Every productivity expert on the planet would agree with us.
But what if a really important email arrives?
Firstly, you can set your email software to alert you to only ‘urgent’ emails or ones from selected people (eg your manager or customers). Secondly, you need to make it clear that if there is something that requires your urgent attention the best thing someone can do is to call you.
How to turn off the Desktop Notifier in Microsoft Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007
How to set Desktop Notifier to only alert you to email from certain people in Microsoft Outlook 2007
This is an extract from '8 Email Tips to save you email time and stop common email mistakes' get all 8 tips free when you complete our online survey - email at work - it takes just 10 minutes to complete.Notes
1. Getting notified only on particular emails or email senders. If you are worried about missing an important email, or if you want to be interrupted if you receive an email from your boss, then you have to create a rule.
2. Setting email to receive on an hourly basis. There is another way to resolve this issue, which is to set your email to receive only on the hour. This approach is not full proof because when you want to receive a particular email urgently you have to wait an hour to receive it.