PostPoints tip: Ease up on e-mail on your phone

If you've recently bought a Web-connected smartphone--for instance, an iPhone or an Android device--you may see your new gadget alerting you of new e-mail messages every 15 minutes, or almost instantly after each one arrives. Isn't it great to be in touch all the time? Not necessarily. Constantly checking for new mail cuts into your phone's battery life (as Apple notes on a page of iPhone power-saving tips) while distracting you from the rest of your life. And to what end? Let's face it, much of the stuff in our inboxes doesn't require our immediate attention: newsletters from online stores, forwarded jokes we've already seen, chatter on busy mailing lists and so on. Try changing your phone's settings so it only checks for new messages every hour or two, or only when you ask it to. Either way, you can always order up an unscheduled check of your inbox if you're expecting an urgent message--or are stuck in line someplace and have nothing better to do.