
This three-part series has been designed to help you win the battle of the e mails – to prevent yourself from a feeling of being overwhelmed by too many e mails and develop strategies to feel you are in control. So far we’ve looked at how to keep your inbox to a low level so you feel like you’re in control (blog 45) and how to avoid e mail paralysis and procrastination (blog 46). This week we’ll provide some other practical suggestions so you can feel like you are in control of your e mails . . . rather than their being in control of you.
You don’t go to the mailbox multiple times a day!

©Austockphoto
So why do you need to go to your e mail inbox so often? Turn off your e mail notifications and discipline yourself to check your e mails at set times each day. You may need to set an alarm to help you.
Treat your e mails like going to the mailbox (Gen Zs: that’s the box that tends to sit on a fence post outside your house where a guy in fluorescent colours drops envelopes in the box – smile). We don’t constantly go to the mailbox each day, maybe we just check it once. So, try and mentally approach your e mails in the same way. Don’t let your e mail box control you – you control it. Maybe check it five or less times each day. You have a process for sorting and responding to e mails (blog 45). You don’t need to respond instantly – for all a sender knows, you could be in a meeting. Respond when you are ready to respond – on your terms.
Checking your e mails constantly diverts your attention and keeps you from the deep work you need to succeed. The e mail conversations become paramount in your mind. Provide yourself with focus time on tasks that require your attention and then give your e mails focused attention . . . and then leave them alone for a couple of hours.
Use templates
There are some things that require a common response. While sending e mails, work on the business of sending e mails. Look for commonalities. You may find that you can have some templates stored where you regularly send a similar e mail. A cut and paste using those templates will save you some time.
Talaera provides 150+ useful e mail phrases to make your life easier. You could use some of these phrases to streamline your e mail writing by making template responses.
And if you find yourself writing the same (or similar) e mail continually, that’s a signal to use a template and retain it as a master.
All these little bits of time add up. You might be surprised what you have time to do if you could shave a bit off here (using templates) and there (only checking your e mails periodically during the day). What could you do with these time savings to drive better outcomes and leap forward?

©I don’t have time for that
And that completes this three-blog series on fighting the battle of the e mails. I hope you find your application to the tips has resulted in you feeling on top of your e mails and saves you time in your daily life for the deep work that will make a big difference in your career.
Your life caddy
Your life caddy . . . when you need coaching, whether that’s life coaching, business coaching, entrepreneurial coaching or mentoring . . . to reset those attitudes, gain strategies with data driven approaches or build new habits and rhythms to give yourself that performance edge . . . Your life caddy is here for you. Subscribe now to keep up to date with weekly blogs, each one based on burning questions from professionals like you, seeking help.