You only need to check your email twice a day

Before I start my account of what I think about emailing, I want to sincerely apologize to everyone who emails me from time to time. Sorry, it's not personal. So, we've tackled that, here we go. Actually, I prefer to spend as little time as possible in my inbox. If you ask me, email is the curse of the workday.

First of all, I have the pop-up for my email turned off. Not just on my phone, by the way, but also on my laptop. I don't want to be pulled into my mailbox by such a notification and never come out again. Furthermore, I am the nightmare of everyone who emails from a mailing list because I read those selectively. Very selectively. In other words: only what seems a bit amusing to me makes it to an opening, the rest does not.

Then there's the length of an email, which is crucial. Actually, anything longer than two paragraphs is just too long. Just pick up the phone instead. Or better yet: shorten that message. And this is coming from someone who has made writing her profession. Indeed, I mean it. Whatever you do, do not underline words or make them bold unless it concerns a heading or subheading. People (like me) panic over this.

I used to think, when I was still ignorant, that you were supposed to start the workday with your email. It seemed to me such a grown-up activity. Later, when I grow up, I will also start my workday by checking my inbox very importantly. By now, I know that once you step into your email, you won't get out for the rest of the day. So I no longer start my workdays with my email, but with projects that require a clear mind, like typing a piece. I handle that very well according to Timothy Ferris, the author of The 4-Hour Workweek. He even claims that you only need one and at most two moments a day to handle your email.

The first moment is at 12:00 PM or just before your lunch. Stay calm if you freeze at the thought of not being allowed to email for a whole (!) morning. Ferris has a simple and plausible explanation. You need that fresh mind to work productively, and all this work is actually done before 11:00 AM, checking your email is a hindrance and a huge time-waster. Ever felt at the end of your workday that you've only been emailing? See, that's what I mean. Besides, you actually only need to check your inbox at that time because people will have responded to your sent emails at the second email moment of the day. Namely: 4:00 PM. These are the two times when you have the best chance of receiving responses to important emails. So you don't have to refresh all day like a slave. And research shows that the less you email, the more productive you are.

It's actually that simple. And calming. Timothy Ferris even advocates checking your email only once a day, but that makes me a bit panicky. I think we should try it. Will you join me? And if you want to make sure I read your email, now you also know when to catch me.