If while working, we see an email or notification, it derails our focus even if we don't do anything about it.An environment free of distractions, with no smartphone notifications, no ringing phones, no incoming email, facilitates deep work.

Be Distraction-Free

<ul><li>Studies show that employees spend more than five hours per day reading and replying to emails. While it may seem like urgent work, email is not the best kind of work.</li><li>The open office culture in many big and small companies is not conducive to achieving the state of flow, in which we are creative and productive.</li></ul>

Shockingly Unproductive

A few smart strategies that can be deployed:<ol><li>Installing pods for deep work while having common areas for collaborative work.</li><li>Wearing headphones that are easily seen to signal that you are not to be disturbed.</li><li>Turning your office into a library, following the same culture of quietness where everyone is hushed and respectful.</li></ol>

Facilitate Deep Work

Instead of the unstoppable email back and forth, using a collaborative tool or notion can lead to more productivity and fewer emails/notifications.

Collaborative Notes

Setting specific times for employees to get into the deep work zone and establish certain rules that promote pure creative work is a great motivator and productivity enhancer.If employees work just an hour doing one task, without any interruption, they will understand the benefits and will love to do more of the same.

A Deep Work Routine

Most email falls in the category of other people trying to get you to do something.And ideally, we shouldn't be spending so much time per day catering to other people's work priorities.

Mails and Priorities 

Text-based communication should have time-blocks: like an hour, twice a day, where we check and respond accordingly. It shouldn't be a constant activity.

Time Blocks for Communication

Real work, by definition, should be rare, valuable and cognitively demanding.Email does not check any of these boxes, and is, therefore, a pseudo work.

Email is not Real Work

<ul><li>Meetings should be short and crisp with a specific purpose/agenda and should just be a reason to gather.</li><li>There should be someone in charge of the meeting.</li><li>Meeting notes should be collaborative, and with a set goal.</li></ul>

Meeting Rules

One of the most horrifying statistics for modern knowledge workers is how much time they spend on email. They send, receive, and respond to email for an average of 5.6 hour per workday. According to Cal Newport, our highest value work is rare, valuable, and cognitively demanding.