Silence those Desktop Alerts
When working we can be easily distracted. Here is how to switch off desktop alerts and sounds so that your email does not interrupt you.
These instructions work for Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013
A desktop alert is a little semitransparent box that floats on to the bottom right of your screen whenever an email arrives in your inbox. It can be accompanied by a sound as well.

It is not the only indication of an incoming email. You can also see a small envelope icon in the system tray and an envelope icon on the Outlook icon on the task bar.


To turn off the notifications:
- Click the file menu
- Click Options
- Select Mail
- Uncheck the boxes – this will stop the sound playing, the mouse pointer changing, it will no longer show the icon on the taskbar and the desktop alert will be switched off

Now you can get on with whatever you are doing without being interrupted by email notifications.
Putting you back in charge!!
Let me know how more productive you are when you switch off the notifications.