During the summer holiday season, many of us set or receive out-of-office notifications. However, the inevitable aftermath of a relaxing vacation is the daunting task of managing a brimming inbox upon our return.
Here are some effective strategies to handle the overwhelming number of emails that accumulate during your time away.
Establishing a routine for checking emails post-vacation (and in general) can help maintain the productivity boost many of us enjoy after time away from our desks.
Instead of constantly checking your inbox and responding to messages in real time, set aside specific times to deal with them during your day. For example, you might decide to check your emails around 10am, after lunch, and before the end of the workday, for 30 minutes each time.
Setting boundaries around email use will make it more manageable, improving your workflow and helping reduce your stress and that of your colleagues. This ensures that you stay on top of important communications without letting your inbox dictate your schedule.
Looking ahead, it’s well worth staying updated on the latest artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can assist with email management.
Prioritization plays perhaps an even more vital role in managing email overload. Rather than reading them as they roll into your inbox, which can be detrimental to your workflow, identify which projects are most important and focus on those.
To manage this, you can use the Eisenhower matrix and categorize your emails into urgent and important categories using labels or folders. This will help you focus on what needs immediate attention – and what can wait. For example, emails from your boss can automatically go into a high-priority folder, while newsletters can go into a reading folder that you check once a week. This helps keep your inbox organized and ensures you don’t miss important messages.
Looking ahead, it’s well worth staying updated on the latest artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can assist with email management. Some emerging tools can prioritize emails, suggest responses, and even draft messages based on your previous communication patterns. While not perfect, these tools are continually improving and can save you valuable time.
“Communicate your email response times clearly to colleagues and clients.”
To minimize post-holiday email overwhelm, it makes sense to organize your inbox before you leave. This may sound counter-intuitive, but you should reduce the volume of work and the number of emails you send in the days leading up to your vacation. Because every time you send an email, you usually get one back.
It’s also key to set clear deadlines for when you will respond after returning, giving yourself a buffer (say a day or two) to ease back into your workflow. In one particularly humorous message I came across recently, the sender boldly stated they would delete all emails received during their holiday. Their advice for urgent matters? Resend the email once I’m back.
Communicate your email response times clearly to colleagues and clients. For example, you can let others know you only check your email at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm (and make sure you stick to your schedule).
You can also create a (short!) to-do list of key projects and tasks to complete before you leave. But try to avoid using email as a to-do list. Instead, use dedicated task management tools to keep track of projects. This prevents your inbox from becoming overwhelming and helps you stay focused on your priorities.
It helps to prepare a comeback list for when you return from time off, prioritizing the most important tasks and projects so you can hit the ground running – reducing the stress of figuring out where to start.
Consider turning off email notifications on your phone and computer to prevent constant disruptions.
The overwhelming number of emails lying in wait after a holiday can hit your mental health. Research links emails to lower productivity, as they create what’s called “attention residue.” This occurs when we switch tasks frequently, leaving part of our attention on the previous one.
To combat this, focus on completing one email-related task at a time. For example, dedicate 30 minutes to responding to emails rather than switching between tasks, which disrupts workflow. In ongoing research, I find that time-blocking can go a long way to boosting our productivity and protecting our well-being.
Research shows constant connectivity through emails can lower life satisfaction – people smile less frequently when engaging with email – and increase anxiety. So, it’s crucial to set boundaries. For instance, avoid checking them outside of work hours or during weekends. As I find in my research, doing so can help protect not only your well-being but also the intrinsic motivation for your work.
To help with that, consider turning off email notifications on your phone and computer to prevent constant disruptions. Once we read an email, we start writing a response in our head before we even type a word. By turning off notifications, you also gain more control over your workflow, because you decide when to check, rather than allowing technology to dictate your attention.
If the idea of not checking emails while away causes you anxiety (it does happen), set a limit on how often and for how long you check them.
“Companies should establish clear norms around email communication.”
Companies should establish clear norms around email communication. For example, no emails should be sent after a certain time in the evening or during weekends unless necessary. If you find yourself sending emails outside normative work hours, make sure you communicate why (because that is when you can respond or because it is urgent), and when you expect a response.
Email norms should be clearly communicated and upheld by everyone, especially leadership. Managers should encourage employees not to respond to emails during their time off. This helps foster a healthier work environment and creates much-needed breathing room for their collective inboxes.
Managers should also ensure employees take their full vacation entitlement and truly disconnect during this time. One way to do so is by modeling this behavior themselves and celebrating being away from work. Providing this support can significantly improve employee well-being and productivity.
For both managers and staff, it’s important to remember that when sending emails, you should communicate the urgency (or non-urgency) and be clear on deadlines. This helps to manage expectations and reduces the perceived need for immediate responses.
My research indicates that recipients often overestimate how quickly senders expect responses, leading to unnecessary stress. This is because others do not know what our expectations are unless we make them explicit. It may help to use a traffic light system to indicate urgency: red for high importance, yellow for moderate, and green for low.
We could all benefit from a tech audit: consider all the tools used for work communication and decide what their purpose is. Is email best used for urgent matters or would phone calls be more effective? This reduces the volume of emails year-round and helps teams to create shared technology norms.
To recap, by limiting the time spent scanning your inbox, prioritizing the right emails, using software management tools, preparing your inbox before vacation, setting clear boundaries around email use, and communicating your expectations, you can reduce stress and maintain productivity. Happy return from holidays!
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