I’m interrupting your regularly scheduled email inspiration/tip for some productivity advice.
I know you want to learn from the master over here.
And by “master,” I mean shiny object syndrome expert.
Oooo a new tech tool!?!? Wait. Where did the last 2 hours go?
But seriously, here’s a tool I keep forgetting about and rediscovering. It’s like a tiny treasure I keep from myself and then remember when I get the overwhelms.
AND it only takes a minute to set up.
INBOX PAUSING
Whaaaaaaaaaaat!? I know.
If you’re like me and keep your email inbox up at all times (because everyone will scratch their eyeballs out if you don’t respond to their email in 30 seconds), then you know how distracting it gets.
I installed Boomerang for my Gmail and G suite emails and it comes with INBOX PAUSE.
If you don’t know what Boomerang is, it’s also its own productivity hack. It can send back emails that you sent that the recipient didn’t respond to. It can also schedule emails in your inbox.
SO COOL.
Weirdly, I mainly use it for the Inbox Pause feature.
When I’m trying to focus, I flip on the pause switch which defaults to 2 hours.
I know what you’re thinking. Why not just close out your email?
When I’m trying to dig through my emails for one tiny detail that I cant remember, I end up losing time because OH LOOK ANOTHER NEW EMAIL. It’s NEW! It’s SHINY! Must read it!
You know that song and dance.
And for all of you Outlook users, there’s a similar function. It’s called “Work Offline”.
Seriously, it’s a game-changer.