Davis & Sigma
Davis
Hey Sigma, I’ve been trying to cut my morning email cycle down by 20%—got any metrics or best practices you can share?
Sigma
Sure, here’s a quick playbook.
1. Log a timer for 30‑minute blocks of email.
2. Divide those blocks: 5 minutes for urgent, 20 for bulk, 5 for follow‑up.
3. Use filters to auto‑archive 80 % of the inbox—anything that doesn’t need action goes out of the way.
4. Create one‑click templates for common replies; you’ll cut drafting time by 30‑50 %.
5. Disable desktop notifications; the only alerts should be the start of each block.
6. Track: how many emails per day, average handling time, and the number of emails that actually require a response.
If you handle 20 emails a day and cut the average time per email from 2 minutes to 1.6 minutes, you’re down 8 minutes—exactly a 20 % reduction. Keep the data in a spreadsheet, tweak the filters, and you’ll see the ROI.
Davis
Thanks for the playbook—looks solid. I’ll set up the timer and templates tonight and start logging the metrics. If I notice any bottlenecks, I’ll tweak the filters. Appreciate the clear steps.
Sigma
Good move—log everything, iterate fast, and you’ll see the gains. Keep the metrics clean and let the numbers drive the next tweak.
Davis
Sounds like a plan, Sigma. I’ll start logging the blocks tonight and keep the spreadsheet tidy. Once the data comes in, I’ll look for the obvious bottlenecks and adjust the filters or templates accordingly. Thanks for the guidance.
Sigma
Nice. Once you have a solid baseline, run a 5‑minute pulse test on any lagging step and eliminate it. Data is king, not excuses.