Open your inbox and watch your breath. Many people hold it, or breathe high and shallow, while they scan their messages. Writer Linda Stone noticed it in herself and others and called it "email apnea".
What's happening
Holding your breath while you focus is a small brace. Your body reads it as a sign that something needs handling. Do it dozens of times a day and you end the day tense without knowing why.
The tool: the inbox check
Stick a note on your screen that says breathe out.
Each time you open email, ask: am I holding my breath?
Drop your shoulders and let a slow breath out through your mouth.
Take five slow breaths into your belly, one hand on it so you feel it move.
When to use it
Before you open a difficult email, between back-to-back calls, and at the end of the day before you close the laptop.
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