The aim of this course was to develop a healthier relationship with email, where your daily workload isn’t determined by the order of the messages in your inbox.
You were going to do this by achieving the following objectives:
- Establishing a fixed routine for checking email
- Working effectively with the information in email
- Writing better emails
- Considering other options instead of email
- Ignoring emails that are ambiguous or unclear
There are so many workflow variations around email, some dictated by the specific features of the platform your institution uses, or your organisational culture, that changes to any system will need adaptation to suit your context. What matters isn’t so much that you follow these lessons to the letter; what matters is that you adopt an intentional and systematic approach to managing email, where your routines aren’t simply a default that’s evolved over time.
Overview of lessons
This course started by establishing a fixed routine for checking email, helping to avoid the distraction of breaking your concentration every time a new message arrives. Checking email can feel like work, but is often simply moving information around. Email is only one of many inputs into your work, and should be allocated time accordingly (preferably not first thing in the morning). Recognising that email should not be the focus of your working day will do a lot to free up head space for more valuable and rewarding deep work.
The second lesson in the course explored a strategy for a more thoughtful processing of email, with the intention of spending less time in your inbox. This was about taking longer to think carefully about how your response can reduce the amount of back-and-forth information exchange that makes up so much of email communication. Taking a thoughtful approach to email can help to close open loops more quickly, lowering the anxiety they cause.
Next you were introduced to a framework for writing better emails. One of the problems with email is that it has no structured format for the content, which can make it difficult to process the information in the message. Knowing why you’re writing a message can help determine how you should write it. By writing more structured emails, you help your colleagues be more effective, reducing the total time that everyone spends trying to understand how to move things forward.
The fourth lesson looked at avoiding email by exploring alternatives as a way of reducing the number of emails being exchanged. While we can’t eliminate email entirely, we can reduce the amount of time we spend with it. Avoiding email is easier than you may think, and includes several benefits, like fewer distractions, closing open loops more quickly, and interacting in person with colleagues.
The final lesson in this course suggested that you don’t have to respond to every email. The amount of effort it takes trying to understand the underlying meaning of an ambiguous message introduces confusion and uncertainty. Ignoring those messages, especially ones with a low likelihood of a bad outcome, can quickly reduce stress and anxiety. Senders who really need information will follow up, often with a clearer articulation of their needs, allowing everyone to move on without resorting to drawn-out email exchanges.
Bibliography
- Newport, C. (2016). Deep work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world. Grand Central Publishing.
- Newport, C. (2016). Write longer emails. Study hacks blog.
- Newport, C. (2021). A World without email: Reimagining work in an age of communication overload. Portfolio.
- Newport, C. (2019). Was e-mail a mistake? The New Yorker magazine.
- Might, M. (n.d.). How to send and reply to email. Matt Might blog.