I’ve realized it’s entirely possible — even likely — to spend my whole workday in the following endless loop:
1. Open Firefox, where Tweetbar and Gmail automatically load.
2. Catch up on Twitter.
3. Answer pertinent Gmail.
4. Check STBD and PodCamp mail (using, easily enough, MAC Mail).
5. Spend the next 15 minutes answering pertinent emails.
6. Take a break to read SI.com and Newsvine.
7. By the time that’s done, there are invariably new emails in all 33 of my inboxes…
So you see the loop, eh?
Half the problem is the overinundation of information. The other half is entirely in my own hands: how do I deal with that overinundation?
The solutions are obvious:
– Allocate a set time to check emails (say, 9 AM, 12 PM and 4 PM)
– Allow myself 10 minutes per hour, tops, to check all 3 email lists
– Disrupt the loop by only taking one Newsvine break per day.
Etc.
Funny thing about life: no matter what you’ve been trained to do in school, you’ve almost definitely NOT been trained to productively manage your own time. You want to fix the education system in this country? Start there.
(And follow by improving school lunches…)
