Top Tips: How to Stop E-Mail Killing Your Creativity

27May10

By Mark McGuiness

It’s the start of your working day and you’re just getting going on a piece of creative work — you know the feeling when you become absorbed in the task, when it starts to flow and you know it’s going well.

But then,Ping!
As soon as you hear the ‘new e-mail’ signal, your hand automatically reaches for the mouse and flips open the e-mail window. As usual, it’s a long e-mail, full of problems and explanations — and requests.

You don’t want this hanging over you while you work, so you start to type a quick reply. But to get the information you need to fish out some documents. Which takes longer than it should do, because you can’t remember where you filed them.

By the time you send the e-mail off, another three have arrived.
Suddenly, the clock catches your eye — you can’t believe how quickly time has flown. and you’ve hardly started on the one thing you really wanted to get done.
Sound familiar?

This scenario was all too common for me a few years ago. My response was to look for techniques that would help me find the time and mental space for creative work — without letting my e-mail inbox overflow.

I realised my problem wasn’t the fact that I received a lot of e-mail — it was the way I was responding to it. I was trying to stem the tide by replying to messages as they came in, but that meant I found it impossible to focus on my real work.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned about how to maintain your creative focus while still keeping up with your e-mail:

1. Switch Your E-Mail Off
How many of us can resist looking at our e-mail? So don’t give yourself the temptation — when it’s time to work, switch your e-mail off, even if it’s only for half an hour.

2. Don’t Keep Checking E-Mail Every Five Minutes
It’s no good switching your e-mail off if you keep logging in every few minutes, ‘just in case’. If your other work doesn’t require the computer, then switch the entire machine off..

3. Don’t Answer E-Mail As Soon As It Arrives
Most e-mails can wait at least a few hours, if not days, with no serious consequences. If you can train yourself to stop answering e-mails automatically, you’ll get rid of one of the obstacles to creative work.

4. Answer E-Mail at Set Times of the Day
I only answer e-mail twice a day: first thing in the morning, if there’s something really urgent and important; and in the afternoon. This leaves the morning — my most productive time of the day — free for my most important work.

Pick one or two times a day, when you’re not under pressure to execute important creative work, and make these your ‘e-mail times’. Make yourself a cup of tea and stick some music on, and you could be surprised how quickly you can zip through the lot.

5. Manage Expectations
If someone is seriously asking for an immediate response to e-mails, then see what you can do to manage their expectations. The most effective way of doing this is to show them what’s in it for them for you to prioritise other work. e.g. if it’s an important customer, then show her how much more quickly you’ll be able to fulfil their order if you prioritise working on it over responding to e-mails.

6. Make Exceptions for VIPs
All e-mails are not created equal. If I’m working on a time-critical project for a client, I’ll answer their e-mail the minute I get it. If you have a customer who urgently needs information from you, and supplying it is urgent, then you’ll need to prioritise that. Just don’t try to do this for everyone!

If you found these tips helpful, I’ll be dispensing plenty more productivity advice for designer-makers and creatives in my workshop on Time Management for Creative People at Cockpit Arts Holborn on 7 July. Places are limited so book early  and when you’ve booked, tell me about your current challenges, and I’ll tailor the workshop to your needs.

About the author

Mark McGuinness has been coaching and training artists and other creative professionals since 1996. He is also a poet and the author of two popular blogs about creativity, Wishful Thinking and Lateral Action.

To hear Mark explain some of the key ideas from the workshop, watch this time management training video.

Flickr Image credit

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