Study Prof

A recent study shows that we spend an average of 64 seconds to get back on track after reading an email.  That can add up to hours a week!

Solution? Check your email on a schedule, perhaps once every hour or two.  Maybe only once or twice a day, depending on your needs and how often you get really important emails.  I personally turned off my instant email notifier last year, because I had a tough time resisting the urge to check my email every time I received an alert. 

Obviously, this solution will not work if you have a boss who expects instant responses.  In that case, you'll need a new boss–preferably one who is smart enough to realize that having their employees drop everything every few minutes to cater to their latest crisis is probably not a very efficient management style.