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The previous post in this series discussed getting a fresh start with your inbox by declaring email bankruptcy like Ryan Holmes, who refuses to waste another minute managing an overflowing mailbox. This post shows you how to get your priorities in order and not let email take control of your day and life.

Lesson #3: Let Your Email Wait

Randi Zuckerberg, sister to Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media herself, is one of the most successful businesswomen in America today.

As told to Marie Claire magazine in 2015, Randi controls when and how she takes care of her email, instead of allowing email to dictate her schedule or decisions. Her solution? She simply prefers to let her email wait.

In her own words, "My two most important rules when it comes to email:

1) Don't check your email until at least 20 minutes after you've woken up! I know it's hard, because your phone is probably right by your bed, but your day will be off to such a better start if you can wait.

2) If you find yourself writing an email that is overly emotional, whatever you do, don't send it right away. Stick it in your 'drafts' folder and come back to it later. You'll likely breathe a sigh of relief that you didn't send it once you've read it again!"

Randi's first rule allows her to get her day in perspective and plan her schedule before her email can do it for her.

Her second rule is one that would benefit almost all of us. Instead of being trigger-happy with your email in a moment of emotion, letting it cool its heels in your Drafts folder for a while, before you reassess and then press 'Send', can never hurt.

 

Up next: Lesson #5 – Reply immediately like Eric Schmidt