How I (finally) stopped doing email

I own a growing agency, with a small team, and I don’t do email anymore.

Well, that’s not exactly true. Email is still a critical part of my business and personal life, I just rarely send them — Let me explain.

If you’re anything like me (and I’m sure most of you are, at least in this respect), you spend hours per day responding to emails and you’re convinced there’s no way to avoid it.

Email is nearly non-negotiable for most (including myself). It’s too essential to give up, and often mandatory.

I’ve previously written about email tactics, not to eliminate it from my day (I didn’t know how), but to decrease the amount of time spent in reactive mode responding to them.

Some of these include turning off notifications, batching, setting time aside to achieve inbox 0 (time blocking), and unsubscribing relentlessly.

Today, I’m not going to talk about more hacks to decrease time spent in your inbox, but rather how to eliminate it.

By eliminate, I mean delegate — Before you roll your eyes and stop scrolling, hear me out.

I’ve been on a mission over the last 7 years in an attempt to delegate my inbox. I’ve tried various tools and methods with little success. Always reverting to the old ways.

I’m aware of the fears that are running through your head as you imagine what it would look like:

• Can I trust them?
• Will I still have privacy?
• How will I maintain control?

These are all rational questions. I get it. Email is an intimate thing (at least it feels that way). But all of my failed attempts weren’t enough to stop trying. Why? Because others have done it resulting in countless hours saved, so why couldn’t I?

I'm writing this to tell you that I’ve finally done it…! And the system I’m using is simple enough for anyone looking to gain back a few hours of their day.

I recently read a book called Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell. Great book. He dedicates an entire chapter to how he fully outsourced his inbox. He makes the point that for an executive assistant to do their job well, they need to have full control of your calendar and email — I’m now convinced.

After reading this chapter, I gave it another go (thanks, Dan). I quickly tested the system with my EA, made some tweaks along the way, and a few weeks later I’ve (very successfully) delegated my entire email inbox.

To say I’m loving it is an understatement. And to my surprise, the system is much simpler than I could ever imagine. The trick is to give them full ownership. I’ve danced around this in the past and made things too complex — Reasons why it never worked.

Alright, now the juicy stuff.

My simplified version of Dan’s email system:

Schedule

• My EA is responsible for achieving Inbox 0 twice per day. Once around 10 AM, and once around 4 PM. This way nothing sits in the inbox for too long.

Inbox 0

• Every email needs to be processed, but not necessarily “handled”. Processing means adding it to the right folder, archiving, snoozing, and/or responding (never deleting).

The 6 Folders

• ![Your Name]
• Things that can only be handled by me
• We avoid this as much as possible
• 1 - To Respond
• For the EA to respond after achieving Inbox 0 and processing all emails
• 2 - Review
• Anything that has to be discussed or shared with me
• 3 - Responded
• When the EA responds to emails, they’re added here
• This gives me full visibility of her responses
• 4 - Financial
• Any transactions or financial-related items go here
• 5 - Newsletters
• The few things that I stay subscribed to automatically go here via rules

Twice per day (after achieving Inbox 0) I get a Slack summary of anything relevant and items for review.

One important principle for this to work (again, thanks, Dan): Only the EA is allowed to process emails — You’re only allowed to touch your folder (the first one on the list).

So, can I trust them?

With the right visibility systems, definitely.

Did I lose my privacy?

A little? And it’s ok. There’s nothing I’m too scared to share and the value is too great for this to be a blocker. You can also have them sign a confidentiality agreement to give you some peace of mind.

Did I maintain control?

Yes. The 6-folder system above works beautifully.

What’s also amazing is how quickly the EA can achieve Inbox 0 because she has 0 emotional attachment to the emails the way I do. EAs can handle them much quicker than you can. In other words, if you're paying your EA hourly it won’t cost much!

The increase in mental bandwidth in my day is significant. Only having to think about the few important emails that come in, summarized, twice per day, is a game changer.

Go ahead and try it:

• Create the 6-Folder System
• Walk through the system with your EA
• Give them full ownership of your inbox

See you all next Thursday 👋

PS. Whenever you're ready... Here are three ways I can help you systemize & automate operations:

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