My Favorite Productivity Hack for Working Smarter

I'm always look for ways to work smarter. I've got two kids under three, a demanding job and just a lot of other stuff going on outside of work. I really want to excel at work, but reality is I will not be able to out work everyone hours wise.

I've recently stumbled across a productivity hack that has helped me be extremely responsive at work to senior executives without constantly checking my email or working 24/7. I recently set up my work email to send me a text every time I get email for a very select group of executives. (article with a how-to) Here is an example of how it works in a real life example.

I'm working out at 8am on a Saturday morning, I get a text that my CEO just emailed me. I jump on chat to discuss it with him quickly, resolve it and he tells me "thanks...now go and have a great weekend". 

I got him what he needed almost immediately at an odd hour. He seemed grateful and I was happy to get him what he needed fast.

I'm confident that these executives see me as someone who is very responsive and I don't have to be addicted to my phone or work non stop to be able to make that happen.

This has been a good thing for me, but it could go south very easily. A few reasons why I think this works for me.

1. Everyone that I have set up to send me a text does not email me frequently.
2. I only have 4 people whose emails will trigger a text message

If you have a ton of people and you get multiple text messages a day, I don't think this is going to help you. I probably get 1-2 a week.

Try it out and let me know what you think!