Why Email is Sabotaging Your Side Hustle
I still talk to so many people who have their inbox open all of the time, whether that’s when they’re at they’re day job or when doing work on their side hustle. This is such a major contributor to their time management problems. If this is you, read on, as I’m going to share exactly why you need to stop doing this and what you should do instead. And if you follow this advice you will see your side hustle productivity soar.
A little bit of history
Email was originally a revolutionary tool that transformed how people communicated, replacing the slower methods like sending a letter. Do you remember faxes? That’s what I remember when it came to speedy communication.
Email is now an integral part of our lives, whether that’s when you’re at your day job, in your personal life or in your side hustle. We can communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world and at any time of day. However, as email has become part of every day life, it has also become a double-edged sword and can be a time-sucking beast if you’re not careful.
Expert Advice from Cal Newport
A great book, all about this topic is ‘A World Without Email’ by Cal Newport. As you’re busy building your side hustle and probably haven’t got time to read it, let me tell you what it says. It will make you look at email in a different light and will hopefully encourage you to take steps to stop it sucking your time when you’re at work. And if you’re not dealing with email, you can get on with the important stuff instead. And when that happens, you take less work home, which means more time to build that successful and profitable side hustle.
The Hyperactive Hive Mind
Let’s start with thinking about a phone call. You chat, you make decisions. In a few minutes or more it’s done. With email there’s lots of back and fore. And possibly several people contributing throughout the day or week. When an email pops up you can feel pressured to respond immediately, not wanting to be seen as the one holding things up. The result? It becomes difficult to concentrate on complex tasks that require uninterrupted time and focus. Your brain can’t settle.
The Cost of Context Switching
Every time you check your email you move your attention from one task to another. Basically, you’re multi-tasking. You’re doing a task that requires focus and reading and replying to messages at the same time. Cal Newport states that this is a very inefficient way to work. The reason for that it when you shift your focus it takes time for your brain to reorient itself to a new task. How often have you found yourself ‘in the zone’, fully immersed in what you’re doing and then you hear the ping of an email. Once you’ve dealt with it you find it difficult to get back ‘in the zone’. For me, I struggle to remember what I was doing. Basically, where was I when I got interrupted, let alone get back to the same level of concentration I had when the email arrived. Sometimes I have to get up and go and make a coffee before I get back to work.
Increased Anxiety and Stress
Email creates a sense of urgency, making you think you must reply immediately, and this can mean even when you’re not at work. That’s because of that other double-edged sword, smartphones. Great for accessing your email when you’re in work and out and about, but not great for allowing you to switch off from work at the weekend.
In essence, you’re always at work, even when you’re not. There’s no clear line between work time and the rest of your life. Which is stressful. You can never completely relax, disconnect and recharge. When you’re stressed it will affect your energy level and ability to focus. At the end of the day all you’ll want to do is flop on the sofa in front of the telly. You won’t feel like spending time on your side hustle.
Tips for Managing Email at Work
Given the problems associated with email and the impact it can have on the time and energy you have to work on your side hustle it's crucial that you put in place strategies for managing it effectively. Here are some tips to help you take control of your inbox and find more time for your side hustle.
Set Specific Times for Checking Email
One of the most effective ways to manage email is to set designated times to check your inbox, rather than reacting to every notification as it comes in. For example, you might decide to check your email three times a day—once in the morning, once after lunch, and once before the end of the workday. This will reduce the context switching that Cal Newport talks about and allow you to focus on more important tasks throughout the day. You will be amazed at how much more you can get done when you don’t allow those interruptions all of the time.
Practise the Two-Minute Rule
If an email will take less than two minutes to respond to, deal with it immediately. This prevents small tasks from piling up and cluttering your inbox. However, for more complex emails that require deeper thought or research, consider making time later in the day to write a more thoughtful response.
Set Clear Expectations
Share your email habits with your colleagues. Let them know that you do not check email constantly and that they should not expect immediate responses unless it's truly urgent. By setting these boundaries you will manage others' expectations and reduce the pressure on you to be always available.
Consider Alternatives to Email
For certain topics email may not be the best way to communicate. If you need to discuss something complex or nuanced, think about picking up the phone, setting up a video call, or arranging a face-to-face meeting.
Conclusion
While email is an indispensable tool in almost all jobs it comes with some major drawbacks. These can impact significantly on your ability to find time for your side hustle. Now you understand this, you can implement strategies to manage your inbox and your time, more efficiently. As Cal Newport suggests, you probably won’t be able to eliminate email entirely, but you can certainly learn to manage it in a way that increases rather than hinders your day job productivity and as a consequence, your side hustle success.