Never start or finish your day checking e-mails.

I never met anybody with “must reply to e-mails instantly 24/7” in his job description.
Yet, many people I meet acting this way.

E-mail is a great tool. And we should leave it at just that.
Tool that helps us to achieve our goals.
Too many people are mistaking replying to e-mails for work. It is not.
I guess it’s because it’s easy, doesn’t need too much thinking and there’s always e-mail to be answered.
Much more convenient than something that requires Hard Work.

There are 5 things you can do with e-mail (based on David Allen):

If it requires less than 2 minutes, reply.

There’s no value for you or your work – delete it.
Most of the time it’s enough to see who sent it or it’s subject.
Don’t read more than first two lines to decide if this mail should be deleted.

Is there someone who would reply better / add more value – forward.

Is it important and requires more than 2 minutes?
Schedule it in your calendar and come back to it later.

No action needed right now, but you may use information later? Archive it.

Never start your day with checking e-mails.
If you do, what will happen, there will always be something that will take your time and divert you away from your goals.
Instead, dedicate first hour of your working day to one of the 3 most important things that are on your To Do List.

Should you finish your work day with checking e-mails than your mind will think about it and you will not be able to fully concentrate on other things you want to do.
Obviously if you check your e-mails before you go to sleep, don’t expect to have a good night sleep.

Related posts: To Do List; Hard Work Explained; To Do or Not To Do