Unsubscribe from Lists. If you belong to some sort of mailing list that sends out regular emails, think about how often that you really read them. If it is less than 25 percent of the time, unsubscribe from the list. Also...
Tips to Reduce Email Stress
Unsubscribe from Lists. If you belong to some sort of mailing list that sends out regular emails, think about how often that you really read them. If it is less than 25 percent of the time, unsubscribe from the list. Also, unsubscribe from any list that you have found yourself on without choosing to be there. Emails that you have no interest in receiving take up a lot of your time. The more that you can do to prevent them, the less time that you will waste having to do something about them
Delete Useless Emails Quickly. Deleting emails is one of my favorite things to do to reduce stress. I try to delete anything that is unrelated to me as quickly as possible before it settles into my inbox and stays there for six months. There are many things that get deleted before I even read them, like invitations to submit to journals that are unrelated to my field or sales emails related to research equipment that I do not use. If an email is relevant but can be handled quickly, I try to answer it as fast as I can in order to subsequently delete it
Create a To Do Folder. This is a recent trick that I have discovered. For all the emails that I have to actually answer that might take some time or effort, I try to stick them in a “To Do” folder, and then I answer them at a time that is convenient for me. It is easier for me to scan through the twenty things in the To Do folder, rather than scanning through my inbox. I try to finish the tasks in my To Do folder at times that are most appropriate for the tasks. Tasks which require little effort get squeezed into small blocks of times between meetings or on breaks from bigger tasks, like grant or paper writing
Consider the Sender’s Deadlines. Often I receive an email from someone who wants something done by a certain time. This can be stressful, especially if you have other competing deadlines. It is helpful for me to remember that in some cases, the person’s deadline does not have to be my deadline. There are times that I just cannot get to something by the time that they request because there are too many other things that I have to do. I usually try to explain that to other people in a subsequent email. Unfortunately, if you spend all your time doing things to strictly adhere to other people’s deadlines, you might not have the chance to accomplish your own goals. It is important to find the balance between your deadlines and other people’s deadlines. Of course, be sure to adhere to deadlines set by your supervisor (if you have one), as those are your important deadlines
Pick Times of the Day to Devote to Email. Lately, I have been trying to pick times of the day that I can devote to email, and I set other times of the day aside to do other things. On any given day, I might spend an hour or two going through the to do list folder and organizing and responding to things in my email. However, some days I don’t answer it at all. One trick that I do with email is to check and respond to it from my phone while I am waiting for something, like a doctor’s appointment or a car repair. I usually have several times during the week where I find myself waiting for something and use that time to catch up with email
Escape From Email. Sometimes you need to stop thinking about email and go do something fun or relaxing. Email should not be your whole life. Set aside times that you absolutely will not check email, like within an hour of bed time or while you are eating dinner with your family. Do activities that allow you to get away from digital communication, like taking a hike, playing a sport, or seeing a movie
