Efficiency tip

In my social media class, I mentioned one "hack" for improving your work efficiency in Microsoft Outlook is to turn OFF the "New Mail" alerts that pop up every time a message comes in. It's like ADD in a box: constantly interrupting you from what you're doing to attend to .

It's a bit tricky to find, so here are instructions for Outlook 2007:

Tools -> Options -> E-mail Options... -> Advanced E-mail Options...

Uncheck "Play a sound", "Briefly change the mouse cursor", and "Display a New Mail Desktop Alert"

Now you finish what you're working on in peace. Whatever that new mail is, it can wait.