How To Minimize and Eliminate Email

Danny Dover May 13, 2015

This week’s video covers techniques for minimizing and eliminating e-mail.

Email Should Never Be Your #1 Priority!

Email is a never-ending task
Anyone in the world with Internet access can add to your to-do list
Email inboxes are not prioritized lists

Add Prioritization to Chaos

Use Sanebox! seriously, it is amazing!
1 “Act Now” Inbox
1 “Act on Later” Inbox (SaneLater)

Make Yourself Hard to Email

Use as few email addresses as possible
Forward all email to one place
Relentlessly unsubscribe

Intentionally Be Slow on Email

Train people that you are slow to respond to email
Set Expectations on Response Time

Calls (1 hr)
Texts (2 hr)
Emails (1 day)

Check email a max of 2x times a day (preferably just once!)

That is it… now enough thinking about email! Go do something productive :-p

Comments on this entry are closed.

Jonathan Goodman

That last tip was right on the money. The speed at which you respond to someone is exactly what they expect going forward. Unfortunately, email is a little like shouting into a dark cavernous cave. People get paranoid if they don’t hear back from someone they shouted at who went into that cave. They start to take it personally and it effects the relationship. People need to also remember not to put emotion into emails. We aren’t all award winning novelists so things like humor and sarcasm should be left out. Another great post Danny!!
- Danny Dover
  
  “Like shouting into a dark cavernous cave”. Nice :-) I like that mental image.
  
  > People need to also remember not to put emotion into emails.
  
  Seriously, the Internet would be a much better place if that happened. :-)
Sophie Cussen

They are very helpful tips however just one point I’d make – being an introvert I actually prefer email to f2f/phone communication. I find people rattle on over the phone or f2f but in an email they have to (usually) be precise in their request/notification otherwise it will just get ignored. Thank you for this though, it’s made me realise email isn’t everything.
- Danny Dover
  
  Hi Sophie,
  
  Thanks for sharing your perspective. Lacking face to face interaction is a benefit of email that I have never thought about before :-) I usually see that as the source of email related problems. Thanks!

Set a Deadline, Accelerate Your Life

Life Listed is a blog and community that freely shares strategies and actionable guides on how to complete a Life List, a self-composed list of personal goals with a self-imposed deadline.

Everybody has unwritten or written life goals but are held back by either a lack of time or a lack of money. The Life Listed community specializes in finding and sharing techniques and hacks for overcoming these daily restrictions. Today is the youngest you will ever be, this blog will help you turn that into your own unfair advantage.