Email gets a bad rap, but for most of us, the whingeing is often less about the medium and more about the relentlessness of it. Imagine if email was more like the post, arriving only once a day (or, say, three times a week)?
Not only would that feel more manageable, but we might actually look forward to deliveries.
Of course, productivity experts have long touted that we are bonkers spending so much time twiddling about with our inbox. Instead, most say we should check for new emails only twice a day (11am and 4pm has been suggested as offering prime bang for your inbox buck).
But doing so is problematic. . First, it requires discipline, and second, it's impractical: most of us need to work on tasks via our email account "between" the hours of checking. Personally, I've tried holding a hand over my face when delving in to send an important message ("I'm not looking"), but it makes typing a little hit and miss.
Instead, I've turned to Batched Inbox. This free program works with Gmail to divert all new emails to a label (aka: folder) by creating a time-based filter. Users specify the time frame, and the Batched Inbox workers (OK, algorithms) ping new messages into your inbox at scheduled times.
The pluses? You can peek ahead (everything sits in a folder/label called "Batched Inbox", which the uber disciplined are encouraged to hide) and you can bow out at any time.
Initially, I set my system to eject my emails at 10am and 3pm. Day one, after a simple set-up, I enjoy a distraction-free hour while I work without the ping of new emails. About 10.15am, I realise it's a little too quiet. Really? Nothing? I sneak a peek and find 10 emails sitting in the Batched Inbox folder. Hmm. I give the system the benefit of the doubt, double check my settings and return to work. At 11.15am – still no emails. Now the quiet is not actually that productive; I need to start tackling the awaiting deluge.
I log back into Batched Inbox and hit "deliver emails now" for some instant relief.
Turns out, I've struck a bug in the system. In a fit of proactivity, I email the contact on the website for help. Surprisingly, this proves incredibly satisfying. The programmer behind Batched Inbox not only sorts out my problem, but checks in later to make sure it's all OK, and notes he'll amend his set-up instructions to troubleshoot the (uncommon) issue for others.
It's a personalised experience that reinvigorates me to stick with it. It's worth it, although within a week I realise that while twice-daily deliveries are a nice idea, I don't have that kind of job. Still, hourly email deliveries make a real difference to my workday; they are often enough for me to resist "checking ahead", but infrequent enough that I'm less distracted. The experience also proves my theory that if email wasn't so disruptive, we'd probably appreciate it more.
More than once, I find myself eager for the hour to tick over – yes, actually looking forward to the electronic mailman's arrival.
Sue White is a freelance journalist who usually enjoys snail mail a lot more than its electronic equivalent. @suewhitewriter
