Unmasking the Layers: Email's Complexity as a Pathway to Clarity
I've been a fan of Cal Newport for several years. He has always offered practical and actionable advice. This blog post from 2016 somehow popped up on my radar, and it has made me think about email, in particular how to reduce my email intake.
I like the tactic from his friend
I have a friend who runs an investor-backed online education company. He recently made an interesting change to his email setup. When you send a message to his normal address, you now get back an autoresponder that reads (in part):
“I appreciate you reaching out. I’m currently in hermit-mode creating as much value as I can for all of our stakeholders and having fun seeing if I can eliminate email from my life…Of course, if this is important, we’re here to help! Just email address of a virtual personal assistant and we’ll use our evolving email-free strategy to communicate.”
I think this is something I may try. Now I don't have a virtual assistant, so I need to think through how to handle that aspect, but Cal is right. From the evidence provided, this should reduce your email intake.