Email Overload: Reclaim Your Day with These Tips!

How much time do you spend on emails?

Some studies suggest that we spend more than 5 hours per day on emails (and this number is likely to grow). That is a BIG chunk of your day. Think about it!

If you factor in the time required for concentration recovery (on average it takes 23-25 minutes to fully return to the original task), no wonder emails take over your day and drain #productivity.   

Does this sound like you?

• constantly check your emails throughout the day

• check your emails on vacation (and even in the bathroom!)

• start and end your day by checking emails

• keep your inbox open in the background while working

• check email every time you receive a notification

• reply within minutes of receiving an email 

These simple hacks will help you fix it:

📧 SEND FEWER EMAILS. Remember that every email you send results in a reply. Before using CC, BCC, FORWARD, think if it’s necessary. Instead, consider quick team huddles to share updates.

📧 KEEP IT SHORT. Keeping your emails short is a sign of respect for other people’s time. If your email turns into a novel, pick up the phone or consider direct messaging instead.

📧 CLOSE YOUR INBOX. Instead of keeping your inbox open all day and reacting to every notification, block off time in your calendar for checking emails and process them in batches (e.g., 20 minutes every 2-3 hours).

📧 USE ‘TOUCH IT ONCE’ RULE. Avoid re-reding emails as it creates redundancy and steals your time. As soon as you open an email, decide what to do with it right away:

• Do it if it takes less than 5 minutes, otherwise,

• Defer by blocking off time in your calendar to deal with later

• Delegate by forwarding to the right person

• Delete if you don’t need to see the email again

• Archive if you might need it for future reference.

Try it and let me know how it works!

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