How to spend less time in email

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Email checking has become an addiction for many. But you can get rid of it and increase your productivity.

Email checking is a lot like a dependency. There are several reasons for this.

• Just like during sex, gambling, or taking drugs, the pleasure hormone dopamine is released in the brain when checking mail.
• We keep checking our inbox because we want to keep up to date and we’re afraid we’ll miss something.
• We parse emails so we can relax and not do more difficult things.

But this time could be much better spent. Kevin Cruz, author of 15 Secrets of Time Management: How Successful People Do Everything, offers five tips to help you cut your email time in half.

1. Add parsing to your schedule

Don't check your email, but process it. Treat parsing messages just like you would any other job. Plan it, add it to your calendar, and then get started. Cruz advises to sort your mail three times a day: morning, afternoon and evening.

It is not the amount of time spent working with mail that matters. Someone will take three hours a day to parse messages, while others will take 30 minutes. The main thing is to approach this business consciously, like a regular job.

Kevin Cruz

2. Don't send everyone a copy of the letter

The fewer emails you send, the less you receive in return. So try not to put so many people in the copy of the letter. Including, do not check the box "Reply to all".

Some were able to cut email traffic by 50% when they trained themselves to think twice before sending a new email.

3. Filter messages

Set up filters to put different types of letters in different folders. This way, you can only waste your time on the really important messages and not be overwhelmed by the rest.

4. Stop using your inbox as a to-do list

Many people send themselves messages with different tasks for later, turning the mailbox into another to-do list. But this only hurts productivity.

Cruz suggests this approach. When you open a new email, first ask yourself if you can delete it. If not, consider whether you can delegate it to someone. If that's not possible, figure out if you can deal with it in less than five minutes. If so, great. If not, put the letter aside for later. But do not leave it in your inbox, but transfer it to your calendar and select a specific date and time when you can do it.

5. Communicate your intention to others

Discuss this with your coworkers, so it will be easier for you to stick to the plan. Tell your boss that to improve your productivity, you will turn off new email alerts and only parse emails at certain times.

Also agree on how you can be contacted in case of urgent matters.

Trying to cut down on the time it takes to work with e-mail, you have to change your habits, and this is always difficult to achieve right away. Please be patient and be ready to realize that there is no need to spend so much time on mail.