Are You an Email Addict? 5 Tips To Break Free From Your Inbox!

Smart phones mean that we have access to our inbox 24/7, making it tempting to frequently check emails at any spare moment. A study by my.com reports that 75% of us check our emails before doing anything else in the morning, and 27% of us even lose sleep mulling over our inbox. But the light emitted by phone screens and laptops disrupts our sleep cycle, meaning we produce too much adrenaline and not enough melatonin, causing irritability and the inability to properly wind down and relax. 

A good night sleep is extremely important in order to perform your best at work, so if you are an inbox addict, it is likely that the obsessive checking of emails is making you less productive in your job, and increasing your stress levels! 

So if you are an email obsessive, try some of these tips: 

1. Set up an out of office when you’re not working Emails should not be an urgent means of communication. Explain in your out of office that you will respond to emails when you can, and make sure people have your phone number to reach you for anything urgent. 

2. Use an alarm clock to wake you in the morning Leave your phone and laptop in another room so that you can’t be tempted to check them whilst you should be trying to sleep. 

3. Log out of your emails when performing important tasks Emails popping up on your screen can be distracting. Try and set a schedule for when you’ll have your inbox open to deal with emails. 4. Pick up the phone or go and talk to the person Avoid unnecessary email communication. Emails can often slow a process down whilst you are waiting for a response. Also there is more chance for miscommunication as tone can be lost. 

5. Turn off email push notifications on your phone Being bombarded by email notifications every time you look at you phone is stressful and not useful if you aren't in a position to deal with them at that moment in time. Turn them off, and only check your emails when you are ready to deal with them.