Introduction
Welcome back to the weekly newsletter.
This week we’ll focus on email efficiency challenge. Email feels productive. It’s often just reactive. You open it “for a second,” and suddenly you’ve lost 30 minutes, your brain is scattered, and the real work didn’t happen. This week we’ll run a 10-day challenge: Inbox Batch Test. Two inbox windows per workday. That’s it. Everything else stays closed.
Email feels productive. It’s often just reactive. You open it “for a second,” and suddenly you’ve lost 30 minutes, your brain is scattered, and the real work didn’t happen. This week you’ll run a 10-day challenge: Inbox Batch Test. Two inbox windows per workday. That’s it. Everything else stays closed.
Weekly highlight: Check email only at two set times per workday for 10 days; record focus gain.
Most people don’t “waste time” on email. They waste focus. You can handle an email in 30 seconds, but your brain doesn’t return to deep work in 30 seconds. It drifts. It re-reads. It hesitates. That’s the hidden cost.
This test is designed to do one thing: protect your best hours for meaningful work while still keeping email under control.
The rule (simple and strict)
For the next 10 workdays, you only check email at two set times:
- Window 1: late morning
- Window 2: late afternoon
Pick times that fit your day. Keep them consistent. Outside those windows:
- email stays closed
- notifications stay off
- no “quick checks”
If you break the rule once, don’t quit. Restart the next day.
How to choose your two windows
Use a practical idea:
- Put the first window after your best focus block, not before it.
- Put the second window before you end the day, so you don’t carry loose threads overnight.
A common pattern is something like:
- Window 1: around midday
- Window 2: near end of day
But the exact times don’t matter. The consistency does.
What to do inside the window (so it doesn’t explode)
Your goal inside each window is not “read everything.” Your goal is to clear decisions.
Move fast using three buckets:
- Delete / Archive (no guilt)
- Reply in under 2 minutes (short answers only)
- Everything else becomes a task (not a half-replied draft)
That last bucket is critical. If it needs thinking, it’s not an email anymore, it’s work. Put it on your to-do list or you’ll drift into long replies and destroy the test.
How to handle “urgent” without breaking the test
Most “urgent” emails are not urgent. They’re just loud.
But you still need a safety valve. Here are clean options:
- Tell your team: “I check email twice a day. For urgent issues, message me on WhatsApp/Teams or call.”
- If you can’t use chat tools, set a simple internal rule: “If it’s urgent, write URGENT in the subject.”
This keeps urgency real, not constant.
What you’ll notice (day 3 to day 10)
Day 1–2: you’ll feel anxious. That’s normal.
Day 3–5: your focus improves. You start finishing more.
Day 6–10: email feels smaller. You feel more in control.
You’ll also notice your work quality improves. Less sloppy switching. More complete thinking. More “real progress.”
The point of the challenge
This isn’t about becoming anti-email. It’s about becoming owner of your attention. You’re training a new default: “I decide when I’m reachable.”
Application
- Pick your two email windows for the next 10 workdays.
- Turn off email notifications on phone and laptop.
- Tell one key person: “If it’s urgent, use WhatsApp/Teams/call.”
- Run the test for 10 days consistently.
Summary
Email is not the problem. Constant checking is. Two inbox windows a day reduces switching, protects deep work, and gives you your attention back. Run it for 10 days and keep the version that makes you calmer and faster.
Till Next Time,
Maciej
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