Spam is a vicious enemy. It doesn’t sleep, it doesn’t eat, and it hunts you 24-hours a day. This attacker lies in wait, and wants to devour your time and kill your productivity. Now is the time to pull out your double-barrel shotgun and aim right between the eyes.

But Wait… Why Have You Turned the Gun On Yourself?
The first step in dealing with this adversary, is to stop shooting yourself in the foot! You can do this by simply getting rid of “self-induced spam”, this is email that comes from lists that you have signed up for… you know the opt-in email for your favorite department store, office supply chain, and coffee shop.

This stuff takes up space in your mailbox, and forces you to have to sift through it. Be careful where you tread, a couple of clicks to see the latest book or CD, and you can be blasted into bits by this time-wasting assassin.

Beware, Your Friends May Be Stabbing You in the Back
Are your friends and co-workers always forwarding messages that contain funny quips, the latest gossip, E-Cards, and sad stories about puppies? If so, fight back! Ask them to quit sending it or hit the delete button.

A Shot Rings Out
This cold-hearted attacker uses diversion as a tactic as he tries to grab your attention and put a stranglehold on your time. To fend off this attack, go into the settings in your email program and turn off the notification that plays when a new email arrives. That annoying buzzer interrupts your tasks, it takes your mind off your projects, and it derails your conversations.

How many times have you been heads down working on a project and the email reminder sounds, and off you go to see who sent the email? This is bad for productivity. The human brain requires concentration and continuity to finish tasks. There is a special state that we call “flow” that we get in that allows us to be our most productive self. Every time an email comes in, it’s not necessary for you to see it immediately.

Set a Trap for the Beast
A good hunter gathers weapons, and then lies in wait for the invader. The evil spam beast can be hunted and you can be ready for his attack. Quality commercial software packages such as Norton or McAfee Anti-Virus can drop grenades on spam in your “inbox” in an instant, leaving only bits of spam debris in the bit-bucket or your trash can. If you use an online email provider such as Gmail, MSN, or Yahoo! set the options for your email box to blitz spam even before you see it.

Don’t Let the Enemy Divert Your Attention
In battle, an army will often burn bridges and place obstructions in the road so that the enemy only has one approach from which to attack. You can do this by having separate accounts for work and personal activities. Because your personal email is separated from your work email, you will not get distracted by it, and you will cut off one of the ways that the spam beast can use to attack you.

Stay tuned for Part 2

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