Should You Check Your E-Mail? Let This Chart Decide For You.

Do you really need to know there's a Gap sale right now?

No matter where you are at this moment, chances are you've checked your email recently.

And if you check it incessantly, you're making everything else more difficult to complete. Research shows it takes your brain close to 25 minutes to recover from a distraction and be able to productively function again.

According to a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, we spend a total of 13 hours -- 28 percent of our workweek -- reading, deleting, sorting and sending emails. We could all use those hours back to accomplish more fulfilling tasks, like finishing a book, spending time with family or doing straight up nothing.

The next time you feel the urge to open your inbox, allow this flowchart by Wendy MacNaughton to help you decide if it's worth the trouble. If you need it as a constant reminder, purchase one for yourself at society6.com.

Wendy MacNaughton

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