Yesterday we told you about the harm of notifications that you don't need, but companies that create web services need to "sell" you more advertising. Today, Harj Taggar, a partner of one of the best startup incubators YCombinator, tells how he overcame the habit of constantly checking email and what he got from life in return. A very inspiring story!
I was interested in finding out just two things: whether the constant checking of e-mail was really an addiction and how it really affected my life. The answer to the first question was received — for six months now I have not had quick access to e-mail on my phone. The transition period was quite difficult. In the early days, I was really shocked by how often I wanted to look into the inbox on the machine. In fact, it has become a habit to open every free second of Mail to see if there is anything new there. Soon this feeling disappeared and was replaced by a certain sense of freedom.
It is worth noting that I have become significantly slower to respond to emails. But we at YC figured out how to deal with it. We have created a common email address that is read by all partners. Our founders (creators of projects supported by YC) write to it when they need our help. If I leave the computer for a few hours, then someone else can answer such an urgent letter. If the case is very urgent and only I can solve it, then they call me or write a text message.
Another side reason for constantly checking mail was concentration, which does not disappear even when I am working at a computer with an open email. I finally realized that e-mail is the biggest killer of my productivity. For example, if I'm trying to code, I don't stop doing it to play the game, but I stop to read the mail. And all this is because I consider reading mail a job! The refusal to constantly read mail on the phone gradually weakened the dependence on reading mail in general. The sensations are simply amazing!
I also began to notice that the refusal to constantly read mail changed my perception of time. Over the past six months, the days have begun to seem significantly longer. If I walk from one place to another, then I have time to look around, observe what is happening around (which is in itself a great source of inspiration when you live in Palo Alto, a place overflowing with happiness) and most importantly, reflect.
The gift of having time to think is the most valuable for me. William Deresiewicz talks about this in his Solitude and Leadership lecture:
I realized for myself that my first thought was never the best. My first thought was not mine, but someone else's. It was something I once heard somewhere on the topic, always fundamental wisdom. An original thought is achieved only through concentration, immersion in the problem, patience, and launching creativity.
Smartphones have led to the fact that it has become difficult to immerse yourself in thoughts and work with them until they turn out to be a polished, ready-to-create idea. Joe Kraus calls it "SlowTech".
As soon as I realized the importance of what was happening in my life, I deleted a lot more — Facebook*, Twitter and Quora apps. I missed Twitter the most. These were the best decisions I have made over the past year and I strongly recommend you to repeat the same.
Instagram Facebook and social networks owned by Meta Platforms Inc. are prohibited from operating in the territory of the Russian Federation.*Activity of Meta Platforms Inc. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram is prohibited in the territory of the Russian Federation.
