Email Stress

We’ve all had that feeling on a Monday morning – you get to your office, or you’re checking your work phone in the morning before you leave; and all the sudden you notice you have 500+ emails! Ok, maybe for most of us it’s not that high, but you still get anxious and stressed, thinking to yourself, “Oh great, here’s Monday again. How am I going to get through all these emails?” Even if you know you don’t need to reply to all of them, sometimes just seeing that high number of unread emails is enough to spike your stress levels. For some, it’s the interruption of an email while working on something important. As Brigid Schulte from the Washington Post said,

“Every time I thought of my inbox, I’d start to hyperventilate. I’d tried tackling it before: one night a few months ago, I was determined to stay at my desk until I’d powered through all the unread emails. At dawn, I was nowhere near the end. Before long, the inbox was just as crammed as it had been before I lost an entire night’s sleep.”

So what we can do to tackle our ever growing inbox numbers, and work more effectively?

Filter: Create a system that works for you. Whether it’s applying filters to your incoming emails that automatically categorises them into specific folders, or taking advantage of deadline reminders and flags.  My personal system includes filters based on the type of email I’m getting (e.g. one folder for client emails, one folder for work meeting emails, another folder for blogging, etc.) Obviously, each of these have different priority levels, so I can check the high priority folders before moving onto the lower priority ones. I also have filters set up to automatically delete emails from unwanted senders or about unwanted topics.

Be Flexible: As you test out your new system, you may find that some things work better than others. Maybe for you thirty minute blocks for email checking is too long, or maybe you find a different way to filter your emails. Additionally, keep in mind that the more you use your new system, the more it will become a habit. So try to stick with it as much as possible.

About the author
Richard spent 8 years in a Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager role within the construction industry before returning to education. He obtained a Masters in Project Management through Napier University, Edinburgh, Cert III & IV in Fitness from Personal Training Academy, Melbourne and returned to Dublin to complete a Diploma in Diet & Nutrition from Portobello Institute. During his education in Dublin he volunteered in St Patrick’s University Hospital for 10 months and advised on exercise & nutrition and how this can have a positive impact on a persons physical & mental health. Through the experience gained in education & the practical environment he believed that there is a necessity for a product that encapsulates an overall holistic approach to enhance a person mental & physical health. Richard spent 18 months researching the concept and achieved a lot of validation through winning Wexford’s Young Entrepreneur Award in 2015. The MyMoodandMe team has grown from concept stage to what it is now, however, the one common goal will remain to “educate, inspire & motivate a person to achieve their goals”.