Email and instant messaging result in a near constant disruption of thinking, with incoming information creating numbing streams of distraction that make it increasingly difficult to focus on what matters. The aim of this course on email management for academics is to create a system where you are in control of your email, rather than having your daily activities dictated by your inbox, and where your daily tasks aren’t determined by the random order of messages you receive.

The basic idea of email has remained essentially unchanged since the first networked message was sent in 1971. And while email is great for one-on-one, formal correspondence, there are far better tools for collaboration.

Ryan Holmes

Course objectives

1. Establish a fixed routine for checking email.
2. Work effectively with the information in email.
3. Write better email.
4. Consider other options instead of email.
5. Ignore emails that are ambiguous or unclear.

Email has become the standard communication channel for academic collaboration, but most academics use it poorly. There’s a lot of information out there for academics who want to get better at writing, but almost nothing for those of us who want to get better at email. And yet, most of us spend far more time dealing with email than writing.

An email is a request for your time and attention, and an inbox is a to-do list put together by other people with no insight into your priorities. Most email communication consists of moving low-value information around, but moving information around is not work. Many academics conflate ’email’ with ‘work’, but email is only one of many inputs into your work.

Buy this email management course and start building a more sustainable relationship with your inbox today.

* Your account will be created using the email address you provide during checkout.

Course overview