I’ve been trying something new regarding email, and I like it.

I’ve always kept my email program open, set to automatically check for new email every few minutes. When new emails arrive, I’m alerted by a sound and by a red number appearing on the icon in my Macintosh dock (the number tells me how many unread emails eagerly await my attention). Email is like a phone call, trumping whatever you’re doing. If you’re deep in prayer but the phone rings, you abruptly leave God without explanation and rush off to answer the phone.

This is bad for creative types, like myself. I read an article which talked about this.

“The problem is that when you go back to what you were doing, you’ve lost your chain of thought and, of course, you are less productive….People’s brains get tired from breaking off from something every few minutes to check emails. The more distracted you are by distractions, including email, then you are going to be more tired and less productive.”

The article said adverse effects are felt most by employees in creative jobs or in jobs that require long periods of concentration. That certainly applies to me. Whether I’m writing an article, editing a manuscript, or doing graphic design, I’m at my best when I immerse myself in the work without distraction. I imagine writing a sermon requires similar concentration.

I didn’t realize how much the constant bombardment of email detracts from my creative efforts, continuously pulling me away, every few minutes, from what I’m doing.

So I’ve been keeping my email program closed. As the article suggested, I set aside specific times for processing email, or maybe do it when I’m at some kind of natural break (switching from one project to another, returning from lunch, etc.). I launch Apple Mail, process my email, then quit the program and plunge back into my creative work.

What a difference it’s made! I’ve been doing this for a couple weeks now. And let me tell you–it’s been a huge benefit to my creativity. Just wish I’d learned this ridiculously simple principle ten years ago.