Are you checking your emails too much? Hands up if you’re straight on your phone and into your inbox pretty much as soon as you wake up…
The constant inbox battle is real – and it turns out reducing email overload could be more powerful for managing stress than you might think.
The Study
124 people were split into two groups: one group limited to checking email 3 times a day, the other could check email an unlimited number of times.
The Results
- Sticking to only checking email 3 times a day resulted in significantly lower psychological stress.
- In turn, this reduced stress led to greater overall wellbeing based on a whole bunch of factors.
- This happened after just one week!
Managing stress is super important for our gut health too, thanks to the gut:brain axis – the constant communication between our gut and our brain.
Less email = better gut health?
Let’s see! Here’s your challenge for the week…
- Switch off email notifications on your phone. You can always open your email app in email emergencies (they’re probably not as common as we think!)
- Schedule set times in your diary to check your emails 3 times a day – I’m going to go for 9am, 1pm and 5pm.
- Leave your phone at your desk when you stop for lunch (or go to the loo… I know you check it in there too!)
For those of us working in healthcare and clinical practice too, another study shows better email strategies can increase productivity and reduce stress.
How? Test out these strategies (Armstrong, 2017) Do you do any of these already?
