Email Is A Distraction Treasure Chest

I was 6 years old when my younger brother Mike and I made the most amazing discovery. Mom had a magnifying glass in her desk drawer. While she was distracted, we scooped it up and we were instantly amazed at our new view of the world. We looked at most everything in the living room, giggling at how funny everyday household items looked under magnification.

Then we went outside and the real magic was about to unfold. We uncovered an awesome capability of this tool…we could focus the SUN! We started by burning a few blades of grass (yes, this was unwise). But then we realized we had just uncovered a new superpower – heat from the sun was ours to use! We burned our names into a hapless white pine. If Mom hadn’t finally noticed her kids were TOO quiet, we might have started marking our territory on the side of the house. But we were busted and sent on to less risky activities.

Focus Can Create Your Own Superpowers

A lamp shade in your living room is diffused. It’s unfocused and spreads light around, but it’s not going to impress anyone or win any awards. We have lamps in every room of our home and I never even think about them. They do their job and softly light a room, but they do not stand out.

But a spotlight at a show, a laser or even yes, a light beam through a magnifying glass, has amazing powers. Those beams of light contain incredible strength to gather our attention. The military uses lasers as a weapon and movie stars want to be in…the spotlight.

Simply focusing the energy of light has a dramatic impact on its effectiveness.

And this principle applies not only to light, but to you and me.

Email Can Make You A Lamp

Listen, I know the siren song of constantly responding to emails and texts. I’ve been guilty too. We want our clients or prospects to know that we are ON IT. For many years, I wanted clients to know I would respond in minutes to an electronic communication – almost like the walkie talkie’s we used as kids.

The volume of communication during this pandemic seems to be skyrocketing. I know well the angst of being away from email for a few hours or – God forbid -  even half a day. How long will it take to “dig out” of the many messages pouring in?

But there is a trade-off for this level of communication: constant interruption which causes you to lose focus on the task or person at hand. This makes you a lamp, not a high-powered laser...which makes you unremarkable.

Given the distraction capability contained in email (and yes, social media or streaming news), is it any wonder that we can get ANYTHING done anymore?

Quadrant 2

Steven Covey talked about his Four Quadrants of time management in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. While we won’t cover all four quadrants posed by Covey here, a simple Google search will bring you lots of information on his concept. Reading (or re-reading) the book would be a great use of your time.

However, we can discuss the much-vaunted Quadrant 2: an area where one is focusing on the important but NOT the urgent.

Spending time in the important but not urgent quadrant covers a lot of really important things in life. Key elements of your business, your most important clients, your significant other, your kids, your Mom and other areas of your life where you may need to spend more and more quality time.

But not email. Email is the opposite of Quadrant 2 and works masterfully to pull you away from some of the most important things in life. The treasure chest of distractions in many, many messages from mostly well-meaning people.

So, What Do I Do About the Daily Barrage of Messages?

There is a whole genre of business books on how to manage these issues. See Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy, for example or Discipline Equals Freedom, by former Navy Seal officer Jocko Willink. Both will get you thinking hard about this issue.  

But you know the real answer: intentionality and discipline. Scheduling time to focus on Quadrant 2 issues FIRST during the week is the intention part. The discipline is what is required to actually implement.

The power of focus can turn you into an amazing performer in the business world. It can be the elixir in your most important relationships and make you stand out in a huge way to your friends and loved ones.

With a new approach to managing distractions, you can become a focused listener and I guarantee that your tribe will notice. Focus and authentic listening are so rare that it really is an easy way to stand out in 2020.

Step. Away. From. The. Phone. On a consistent basis. You will be a better person for it.

Oh, and don’t try to use that magnifying glass on the cat, but that’s another story.