Jerome is a very busy executive at a leading academic institution. In our second coaching call, I asked him to track how he spent his time over 3 days. Here’s what he found:
He spends 3 hours PER DAY on emails!
Whilst he was surprised, I was not. I regularly see this with my coaching clients and indeed, that used to be me. Quick story: I once had a client who was waking up 2 hours earlier just to clear the over 200 emails that landed in her inbox every morning! Through our coaching, we were able to get the emails down to 30 per morning, and free up time for her to wake up later and do a morning practice that helped her greet the day with joy.
It’s so easy to get trapped in the endless cycle of checking and responding to emails, spending hours each day wading through your inbox. You get to the end of the day, only to realize that the critical strategic work that leaders must do, has not been touched. So you put that off for another day, or work 2 or 3 hours well into the night.
You are in email jail.
The Impact of Email Overload
The allure of the seeming ease of email has made it an indispensable tool in our modern workplace, and indeed in all areas of our lives. However, this convenience comes at a cost:
- It drains our energy and increases stress, as we get caught up in minutiae and the demands of others
- It reduces our productivity and ability to deliver on time
- It disrupts our concentration, particularly if we have notifications on. This impedes our ability to focus on important projects and strategic initiatives
- It makes us reactive rather than proactive about our work, leading to frustration
- And it leaves little space for deep thinking, creativity and innovation, which is so necessary for these fast-paced, ever changing times!
Get out of jail free:
Fortunately, we can all bail from email jail. Here are 5 actions you can start taking RIGHT NOW:
- Do an email audit:
The first step in gaining control over your emails is to do an audit. For the next 3 days, track how much time you spend checking and responding to emails. Don’t try to change anything – just note the times of day and the total number of hours. Now you have a baseline. Do this at least once per year to track your progress. - Set Boundaries, without apology:
Establish designated times throughout the day to check and respond to emails, rather than allowing them to dictate your schedule. One thing to avoid is checking emails as soon as you wake up. Take time to ease yourself into your day, focusing on preparing your mind, body and spirit first.
Try batching email tasks, so you minimize interruptions and leave room for dedicated blocks of time for focused work. In his book “The 4-Hour Workweek”, Tim Ferriss advocates putting a message in your email signature that lets everyone know exactly when you check emails. It could go something like this:“I practice time-blocking for email management. I check and respond to emails at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. each day so that I can prioritize strategic work, maintain focus and better serve you. Thank you for your understanding.”There’s no need to apologize for establishing your boundaries, as your intention is to become more efficient and effective, and thus able to better serve others (including those who are emailing you). And, you set the example for others to get out of their own email jail (there’s a lot of company there!)
- Prioritize your responses:
Not all emails are created equal. Adopt a triage approach to sorting through your messages, identifying those that require immediate attention, those that can wait and those that need no reply. As you sort through, remember the 2-minute rule: If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it now.
Also consider setting up filters, labels, and folders to organize incoming emails. A few hours spent on this one-off task will yield considerable time savings every day. - Choose the appropriate communication channel:
Remember that you have other methods of communication – a phone call, text, voice note or even a walk over to the other person’s office to have a face-to-face conversation! Email isn’t everything, and it’s not suitable for every task. For example, it is ineffective, and indeed counterproductive for dealing with situations that are highly emotional. Emotions are conveyed in tone, eye contact and body language, none of which are present in emails. - Take an Email break:
Consider an email holiday once per week or month. For that day, do not check your emails. It’s that simple. If that’s difficult for you, try taking emails off your phone, and check only on your computer.
Email is a great tool, but like all tools, only works if you use it appropriately, and not allow it to use you. Email jail is a choice and you can break free.
