Curing Email Addiction

Think for a minute about how often you check your email. Once a day? Three times since you started reading this article? Email is something many of us check incessantly. A study out of Loughborough University in the United Kingdom found that 70 percent of email notifications get some sort of response within six seconds. Here are a few ways to wean yourself off an email addiction.

Stick to a schedule. Choose three times in your day to check your email. Better yet, set calendar reminders so you don’t have to think about it.

Turn off notifications. It can be distracting to hear a “ding” on your smartphone every time an email comes through. Turn those off.

Clear your inbox. Don’t let your emails pile up. As you launch into this addiction-breaking period, empty your inbox of any unnecessary messages to make way for new, important ones.

Take a digital vacation. Turn off your email for an entire weekend. Tell people to call or text you in case of an emergency. Perhaps most important of all, try not to check your email during your next vacation.