Delete Your Email From Your Phone
Reading Time: 2 minutesThere’s a Simple Way to Claw Back a Little Work–Life Balance, It’s helped me stay present—and can help you, too., Work–life balance: Take your email off your phone.
This is One Thing, a column with tips on how to live.
I love to check my email. There was a time when I would treat it like a social media app, clicking the mail icon on my phone, hoping for the excitement of an unread email. No matter where I was, on public transit, grocery shopping, even on a phone call or out to dinner with friends, I’d sneak a peek. I felt I was being proactive, and responsible, positioning myself as a fast responder and ensuring my inbox would not become overcrowded. As a freelancer, it felt extremely important to check my email a lot. And sometimes, the emails were really good! I’d get a yes on a pitch, or a word of praise, and my day would be made.
But of course, not every email brings such positive emotions. I found there were multiple times when I would read an email that made me upset or distracted—an editor giving me critical feedback or an annoying task I would have to get done. Suddenly, I would no longer be present—my mind was focused on the words on the page, taking me away from whatever I had been or should have been doing in the first place. The emails weren’t even that urgent—and it wasn’t like I could attend to a draft of a piece when I was out with friends, anyway.
I decided it was time to follow the tried-and-true advice about what to do when you’re addicted to an app: delete.
I fully removed my email accounts from the mail app on my phone. No longer can I just click a button and see my emails appear. Instead, when I’m away from my computer, I log in on my phone’s browser, often having to sign in each time before seeing what awaits me.
I’ve kept it this way for months. Yes, I do go to Safari to check my email, including sometimes when I’m just bored or itching to see what’s in there. But I’ve noticed that the frequency of checking my email on mobile has slowed down. The extra effort is a stopgap of sorts. I can take a second to think about whether I really do need to be checking right now. Sometimes, there’s a good reason. But usually, the answer is no.
The world is chaotic, and setting boundaries around screen time and work time feels more important than ever. So I’m reminding myself that my emails and all the things I need to do will still be there, whether I check them in an hour—or four.
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