Use E-Mail as a Servant
How you deal with your e-mail is going to have a major
impact on your career. There are some people who are slaves
to their e-mail. They have a bell that goes off each time a
new e-mail comes in, and whatever they are doing, they turn
immediately to their inbox to check on the message. In
effect, they “switch tasks” and then return to what it was
they were doing, immediately losing momentum, clarity,
and output in their most important tasks.
Tim Ferris, in his bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek,
explains how he went from being a slave to his e-mail twelve
to fourteen hours a day to mastering the process completely.
First, he decided to only answer his e-mail twice a day, at
eleven o’clock in the morning and four in the afternoon.
Then he went from twice a day to once a day, to once a week.
Even when answering e-mails once a week, his efficiency,
effectiveness, productivity, and income increased.
Julie Morgenstern, the time management expert, wrote a
book called Never Check E-Mail in the Morning. This title
and the very idea come as a shock to most people.
They Can Wait
Some of the most productive people I know have an auto-
matic response on their e-mail. It reads something like this:
“I only answer my e-mail twice a day because of my busy
schedule. If you have sent me an e-mail, I will get back to
you as soon as I possibly can. If this is an emergency, call this
number and speak to this person.”
BATCH YOUR TASKS 79