Handle email and messages in batches at set times each day
- Moderate value
- Evidence B
- Saves time
- Free
- Takes minutes
- Some willpower
In plain words
The same group of people were compared over two weeks. In the week when email checks were limited to 3 times a day, daily stress was clearly lower, while the number of emails sent and received was the same. With no limit, people checked an average of 15.5 times a day.
- Cost
-
Free. It takes a little time to tell coworkers how often you will reply. Holding back from checking email all the time takes a little willpower.
- What you get
-
124 adults, the same people compared before and after over two weeks (each person as their own control). In the week limited to checking email 3 times a day, daily stress was clearly lower than in the unlimited week (effect size Cohen's d = 0.37). The number of emails received and answered over the two weeks did not differ. At the start, with no limit, people checked email an average of 15.5 times a day.
- Notes
-
This is one study, with a small-to-medium effect, and it measured stress, not work actually done. Instant messaging has not been studied directly; this is only extended by inference.
- Evidence grade
- B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
- Sources
-
- Kushlev & Dunn (2015). Checking email less frequently reduces stress. Computers in Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.005
Mentioned in
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 3, tip 5. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer