It’s time to become the ringmaster of your inbox
You lack boundaries around your inbox, and this is one of the top reasons that you are a flustered professor who only seems to have one mode: spread thin. You open your email inbox for a quick check—maybe just to confirm a module code, or see what time a meeting starts, fast-forward two hours, and...
you're knee-deep in unread emails,
your anxiety's through the roof,
you've clicked yes to reviewing two new articles,
you've agreed to teach an extra course and run a five-day summer conference.
It's time to become the ringmaster of your inbox instead of letting the lion's den of email run your life.
Here's how:
Learn how to store as a master: When you use my recommended systems and habits, you no longer have to dig through your inbox for key information. Email is no longer your filing cabinet.
Time-block like a pro: Learn to schedule specific windows for checking and responding to email. During all other times, shut it down.
Learn how to self-coach and embrace the uncomfortable with ease/that doesn't need the dopamine hit: You might be surprised how much you crave that dopamine hit of fresh pings. Or feel your anxiety rising when it's 8.45 am and you didn't check your email in bed that morning. Learn to sit with the discomfort, and it will pay dividends. Before too long, it won't even be uncomfortable.
If you need help with this, get in touch or check out my membership. I help people with this every day. I don't check my email until lunch and haven't done most days for years, and it feels great. I have a calm and spacious demeanour to show for it. I get to go home at 4 pm and hang out with my kid.
Once you master these steps, your inbox becomes your servant. You'll sleep soundly without those 3 am wake-ups worrying about the student email you forgot to reply to. No more agreeing to review an 800-page manuscript just to clear an alarm notification. And best of all, you'll finally focus on what really matters, which is getting published.
