WORKERS should be less obsessed with checking emails if they want to manage their working day better, one of Europe’s leading time management experts said.

Gleb Arhangelsky was speaking on a visit to the North-East, where he will address local business leaders tonight at Newcastle University Business School. Moscowbased Mr Arhangelsky has previously advised blue-chip companies including Microsoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, DHL and Nestle, as well as the Russian government.

He believes that a good work-life balance involves “having time to get everything done, but still having time for everything that makes your life interesting”.

And he believes many companies risk becoming bogged down in the minutae of everyday work rather than focusing on what they want to achieve.

He said: “If they are a senior person, very often they come to their office and see meetings in their diary, emails waiting for acknowledgement and bury themselves in all these things.

“In the evening, they have a guilty conscience that they didn’t do anything long term.”

Mr Arhangelsky suggests using a piece of card with long-term goals written on it like a bookmark in your diary.

He said: “It means the first thing you see is not today’s meeting, but your long-term goals and you can ask yourself, ‘what small step can I make today to make it happen’?.”

Another technique Mr Arhangelsky suggests is aimed at cutting the number of hours spent dealing with emails, a major problem for many businesses.

He advises that, rather than checking emails every five minutes, it is best to read them only every one or two hours, freeing up time to complete other tasks.

He said: “In two hours, your company can’t go bankrupt.”

Mr Arhangelsky said the purpose of time management is not simply to improve productivity, but to free up workers, enabling them to focus on important matters such as family and friends.

Mr Arhangelsky was Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Education and Business Development last year.

Tonight’s event, at the Devonshire Building at Newcastle University, starts at 6pm and is free to attend, but registration at ncl.ac.uk/nubs /about/events/item/time-fortime-management is essential.