Controlling Emails

Email is an amazing method of communication. Delivery is reliable and practically instantaneous, sloppy handwriting is never an issue, everything is time-stamped, photos and pdfs can be easily attached, links can be clicked on rather than re-typed into a web address bar, and the ability to digitally record and store correspondence is priceless. Email truly is a fantastic invention.

But I hate it. Passionately.

I hate opening my email and seeing messages in my inbox. Unless I am expecting a message for a particular purpose, emails in my inbox usually mean work that I don’t care to do. I’m not lazy. I’m selective. I possess a finite amount of energy and time and would rather not spend it filing emails.

You don’t have to be a neurosurgeon for your time to be considered precious, and I think it is pretty obvious that spammy newsletter email blasts are a waste of precious time. Even if spam isn’t read, simply needing to click the “delete” button is a waste. Worse though, is what happens if the “delete” button is neglected for a few days, and important mail intermingles with utter rubbish.

Spam is the obvious example, but those are not the only messages that ought to be trimmed and organized. An email account without any efficiency systems requires the brain to jump in and out of focus as each message releases a barrage of questions.

Who is contacting me? What topic is this message about? Do I need to respond? Is this urgent? What information is relevant here?

Without a system, there is no reason to suspect a particular answer will apply across multiple messages, thus each email is a new puzzle. Switching tasks, either by multitasking or moving from one task to the next, results in attention residue [2, p 42]. For a period of time your mind remains on the initial task even while you are trying to work on a new one [2, p 42]. If the initial task is unfinished, of low intensity, or without a clear end goal, attention residue becomes a greater issue [2, p 42].

Take Control Of Your Email

I personally use Gmail and know its related syntax, although I am sure other email providers have similar features. The following technical advice may need to be a springboard for you if you use a different provider.

Unsubscribe

My most important advice is to unsubscribe from everything that you don’t actively read and enjoy. Do this with unremitting diligence. If you have never tried to control your email before, this will make the biggest difference. If you worry that the “Unsubscribe” button is not safe to click because the email looks super seedy, then mark it as spam and it will automatically pass the inbox. Have you subscribed to my blog? If you don’t find my emails or posts interesting, unsubscribe. I won’t be offended. I would be delighted.

Use Filters

I have found great satisfaction in filters which automatically send emails beyond the inbox and put them in a folder. Aside from “Block email@email.com” and “Report Spam”, my favorite filter is the newsletter sort. Any message that contains the phrase “Unsubscribe” automatically disappears from my inbox and reappears in my “Newsletters” folder. This is the example filter I build in the video.

I use a similar filtration technique to isolate senders who only write messages about particular topics. The top director of my graduate program, for instance, only sends messages relevant to the program as a whole, and is not even a part of the physics department. When my mind is set to think about physics, I do not need to be distracted by these emails. Conversely, when my mind is set to organizing schedules or program logistics, I don’t need to be distracted by physics emails.

This is where attention residue may be most severely and delightfully truncated. If I open my “Newsletters” folder, I already have several questions answered about the nature of the emails, and can predict several similarities across them. I know that they are likely to be light, fluffy, non-urgent, no-response emails that I could easily ignore without consequences if I don’t have the time. If I open my “Finances” folder, however, I’ll expect bank statements or bills that require attention and timely responses. Even if the quantity of emails is not reduced by this sorting, the benefit of setting up these systems is that I get to choose the focus rather than be subject to erratic demands.

Complete The Task

Do something when you open an email. It is very tempting to casually read emails and decide to do something about them later when conditions are more favorable. 

When you’re at your desk. When you can write a response on your laptop instead of your phone. When you aren’t as tired. 

Unless an email has left you emotionally flooded and clarity of thought is not a luxury you can afford, see the bitter process to its end. Otherwise, I would recommend not opening the email at all.

Send the response, put the message in the folder, add the meeting to your calendar, complete the task.

Since the brain does not like unfinished business, it is prone to retaining incomplete tasks in short term memory [1, p 67]. Some researchers believe that only four items can be stored in short term memory, although the ability to “bundle” information does muddy the waters a bit [1, p 65]. For instance, 1, 4, 12, 16, 4, 2 could instead be presented as the years 1412 and 1642; two items instead of six. Tricks and techniques aside, short term memory holds information delicately and at the forefront of the mind until it is committed to long term memory or forgotten [1, p 65]. This is why unfinished tasks can seem to occupy our minds until they are completed or written down such that our brain believes the task will be taken care of [1, p 67-68].

Leaving an opened email without completing the task or recording what must be done later introduces the new burden of remembering, which creates additional mental pressure and stress.

But it isn’t simply irritating to have an unfinished email drunkenly staggering about in the delicate realm of short term memory; this gives rise to the issue of multitasking. Working on several incomplete projects, even if the “work” is simply remembering to do a job later, is multitasking.

Multitasking is not actually the act of focusing on two or more things at once, but rather quickly shifting focus between multiple tasks [1, p 56]. It is a fatiguing activity. Instead of the brain completing a set of tasks in succession and only putting forth the effort to transition problem solving approaches once per task, the multitasking brain introduces many extra transitions [1, p 57]. It is therefore more fatiguing to complete several tasks in a multitasking manner than it is to complete those same tasks in succession.

Mulling over an email while engaging in other work is a menace to productivity. If you like to open every email as soon as it comes into your inbox, I’ve been there. However, if the process won’t be finished, delay opening email or even looking at your inbox until there is time and space available to address every necessary message.

References:

[1] Ahrens Sönke. (2022). How to take smart notes: One simple technique to boost writing, learning and thinking. Sönke Ahrens. 

[2] Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. New York: Grand Central Publishing.