![\"Businessman](\"https:\/\/coaching4todaysleaders.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_566677395-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”\u2014Peter Trucker, as quoted in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There<\/em> by Marshall Goldsmith<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read it before, but this quote really resonated with me recently. I thought, if that\u2019s true, then maybe instead of making New Year\u2019s resolutions about the things we\u2019re going to do this year, maybe we should talk about what to stop doing.<\/p>\n What are we going to stop? One thing for me is checking email. Obviously, I\u2019m not going to stop altogether, but I can certainly stop checking it so much. Here are a few ideas I\u2019m exploring:<\/p>\n 1. Stop letting email dictate my day.<\/strong><\/p>\n How many mornings have I told myself, \u201cI\u2019ll just check my email quickly,\u201d and then 45 minutes later I\u2019m still there? Even if I started out with a list of things I wanted to work on, other people\u2019s priorities soon took over. Can you relate?<\/p>\n Some people have set times each day (or even once a week!) to check email and the rest of the time they focus on their personal and professional goals and commitments. They often use an autoresponder, essentially telling people, \u201cI\u2019m busy doing what I need to be doing, and here\u2019s when you can expect me to reply.\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if I’m ready to do that, but I do want to consider when I want to check email, and when I want to stop<\/em> checking.<\/p>\n 2. Unsubscribe with abandon.<\/strong><\/p>\n Another way I\u2019m trying to set boundaries around email time is to get fewer emails to begin with. And that means unsubscribing from newsletters, special offers, and other mass emails that don\u2019t involve a direct conversation with someone I know.<\/p>\n Trying to do this all at once would be overwhelming. Instead, when I\u2019m checking email anyway, I\u2019m trying to think about each subscription and carefully consider whether I want to continue receiving those messages.<\/p>\n 3. Separate work from personal email.<\/strong><\/p>\n I may not want to check work emails during off hours, but that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t want to hear from my friends about what fun plans I could join on the weekend. For a long time, my work and personal emails had been blended into the same account. Recently, I created a new email just for me as a person.<\/p>\n Instead of telling myself I can\u2019t check email during off hours, I\u2019m free to check this personal email and enjoy connections with friends and family when I\u2019m not working. And I won\u2019t have to see work-related requests or updates that I\u2019m not in a position to deal with from my phone or when my head\u2019s just not in work mode.<\/p>\n 4. Unhunch.<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether personal or work, I really do want to check email less on my phone, especially complex work emails that require more reading or typing. Doing this hunched over my phone can literally give me a pain in the neck.<\/p>\n When I\u2019m at my standing desk in the office, my body is more aligned and comfortable, which is bound to affect how I come across to the recipient. I\u2019m remembering Aesha Tahir\u2019s message in an earlier post about the importance of unhunching<\/a> ourselves, straightening up, and being more open.<\/p>\n 5. Stand firm.<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if you don\u2019t have a standing desk, stand firm in your commitment to your own peace of mind and boundaries. Recently I noticed a work email, and since it was before 9:00 a.m., I decided to come back to it later. But shortly after, the same person sent a direct message on another platform.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just an email issue; it\u2019s about expectation<\/em>. In any relationship, we teach people how to treat us and what to expect. But first, we must be clear in our own minds. (And no, I didn\u2019t respond to either message until my work day started.)<\/p>\n