I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 19 years 19 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
Here’s a quick tip to be more productive at your desk…
When I open my email program in the morning, my new email does not pour in until I ask for it with the “send and receive” button. This gives me a chance to look through everything critical in my in box from the day before.
When I sit down at my computer after a long or short break, I can gather my thoughts, sort through the day’s mail so far, and act on anything that needs cleaning up. Then, and only then, will I check my mail, by pressing the “send and receive” button.
I never get email unless I WANT it at the moment. It keeps me from getting distracted and running off in too many different directions at once.
To turn off your automatic send and recieve…
In Outlook Express:
Tools – Options – General tab and UNcheck the box at the bottom for “check for new mail every X minutes.
In Outlook (2003 or XP)
Tools – Options – mail setup tab – Send/recieve button and UNcheck the box for “schedule an automatic send/receive every X minutes