«Brokenness» © col_adamsonIf you want to be distracted from your work, give in to chatting, instant messaging (IM), phone calls or meetings. These are the ultimate productivity killers, because they suck up all your attention, break your flow and turn you mind into an enchained tiger wanting to be set free. They're synchronous communication mediums: you «need» to react immediately. Opposed to that, media like email (and letters, do you remember them…?) work asynchronously: you decide when to react.
The fourth part of this mini series on protecting your inbox shows you how to limit information that jumps on your desktop, staring at you, demanding immediate response or action.
Synchronous communication garbage
I'll deal with three common, time-wasting, synchronous types of office nags that clutter your inbox here:
- Instant Messaging (IM)
- People dropping by
- (Invitations to) Phone conferences and meetings
1. Instant Messaging (IM) receives » Read more
