I was feeling a tad stressed the other day. I'm sure you know the feeling. I was trying to keep up with all the emails coming my way, and also attempting to concentrate on a project that needed to be completed. Finally, I turned off the email notification feature in Outlook 2003, you know, the one that pops up the little message in the lower right-hand portion of the screen to let you know you have new mail. And I felt so much better for it.
Now come to find out that once I stopped monitoring my email in real time, my IQ probably went up 10 points! If you, too, suffer from info-mania, you might want to read this article from the San Francisco Chronicle, E-Mail Addles the Mind. (Thanks, Joan!)
Cindy,
I did this too about 2 months ago and find that I can concentrate so much better when I am not constantly looking for my email. I have also taken to closing my email for a few hours at a time to get work done. Everyone is so used to my instant responses (and I think librarians probably suffer from this more than anyone else), but if someone really, really needs me, they can call me. And no one really, really needs me.
Thanks for the great posts. I am a big fan!
--Elizabeth