Latest / The Burnout Podcast with Fexingo: Workplace Exhaustion, Recovery, and Sustainable Careers / How Email Batching Reduces Decision Fatigue and Burnout
Transcript
- Lucas: So a few years back, I read about a software engineer at a mid-size SaaS company who was checking her email about thirty times a day. She told her manager she felt like she was getting nothing done — context switching every few minutes, always behind. So they agreed she'd batch her email: three times a day, morning, after lunch, and late afternoon. Within two weeks, she reported a forty percent drop in her subjective exhaustion score. That number has always stuck with me. Luna: Forty percent is huge. And it's not just about email, right? It's about the cognitive toll of constant decision-making. Lucas: Exactly. Every time you glance at an inbox, you're making a micro-decision: do I open this? Do I reply now? Should I flag it? Multiply that by thirty checks a day, and you're burning through willpower on trivial choices. The brain treats each one as a decision, even if you don't act on it. Luna: So batching reduces the number of decision points. Fewer decisions, less fatigue. Lucas: That's the core mechanism. And there's research to back it. Roy Baumeister's work on ego depletion — the idea that self-control is a finite resource — shows that making repeated decisions wears you down. Email batching doesn't just save time; it preserves cognitive energy for the work that actually matters. Luna: I've tried batching on and off. The hardest part is the urge to peek. That little dopamine hit when a notification pops up. Lucas: Right, the variable reward. It's the same mechanism that makes slot machines addictive. Every time you check, there might be something interesting. So you keep checking. But the cost is that you're training your brain to be constantly on alert. Luna: And that alertness is exhausting. It's like your nervous system never settles. Lucas: Exactly. One of the things I recommend is turning off all email notifications — sound, badge, lock screen. Then schedule two or three blocks. The first block in the morning to clear urgent stuff, one after lunch, and one at the end of the day. Each block should be no more than thirty minutes. Luna: That's interesting — the time cap. Because batching can become its own stressor if you let it expand. Lucas: Right. The goal isn't inbox zero; it's managed attention. I know someone who calls her batches 'email sprints' — sets a timer, processes as much as she can, then closes it. She says it's freed up about two hours a day. Luna: Two hours is massive. That's a whole creative block. Lucas: And that's where the real work happens. The deep work, the problem-solving, the thinking that can't be done in five-minute slices. But if your brain is fried from constant email decisions, you don't have the cognitive bandwidth for that. Luna: So batching doesn't just prevent burnout — it enables better performance. Lucas: Yeah. And I think that's the framing that gets people to try it. Because most of us know we should reduce email, but it feels like a luxury. When you frame it as a performance enhancer, it becomes a necessity. Luna: We've talked a lot about microbreaks and recovery on this show. This feels like a structural version of that — a systemic change instead of a one-off. Lucas: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's what keeps this show ad-free and independent. Luna: Yeah, listener support really does make a difference. Every little bit helps us keep digging into these topics. Lucas: So back to the research. There's a study from the University of California, Irvine, that found it takes an average of twenty-three minutes to refocus after an email interruption. Twenty-three minutes. If you're interrupted six times a day, that's over two hours of lost focus. Luna: And most people don't realize the interruption cost. They think, 'Oh, it's just a quick look.' But that quick look derails your train of thought. Lucas: Exactly. The thing is, email batching also reduces the anxiety of feeling like you have to respond immediately. You set an expectation with colleagues: 'I check email at these times; if it's urgent, call or Slack me.' Most people respect that. Luna: And you can set an autoresponder. I know a manager who has one that says, 'I batch email to protect my focus. If your message is urgent, please resend with in the subject line.' It works. Lucas: That's a great example. It's about reclaiming agency. So many of us feel like email controls us, but we can flip that. It's a tool, not a boss. Luna: One thing I struggle with is that sometimes I need to send an email quickly to get something off my plate. But if I open my inbox to send one, I'll see new messages and get pulled in. Lucas: That's a common trap. A workaround: compose the email in a draft or a notes app, then paste it during your batch session. You get the mental relief of capturing the thought without the cost of scanning the inbox. Luna: That's clever. It separates the act of sending from the act of checking. Lucas: Right. And if you can, schedule your sends for the next batch time. Most email clients have a 'send later' feature. That way, you're not creating an expectation of immediate response. Luna: So you're essentially decoupling communication from reception. Lucas: Exactly. And over time, your colleagues learn that you're not ignoring them — you're just on a rhythm. That reduces their anxiety too, because they know when to expect a reply. Luna: It's a cultural shift as much as a personal one. Lucas: For sure. And some teams adopt it together. I've read about companies that have 'no internal email after 3 PM' policies, or 'email-free Fridays.' Those are extreme, but they signal that focus matters. Luna: I wonder if there's a generational component. Younger workers seem more comfortable with async communication — Slack, Notion, whatever. They don't have the same attachment to email. Lucas: Maybe. But the principle applies to any notification-based tool. It's not just email — it's Slack, Teams, chat. The same batching logic works. Close the app during deep work blocks. Luna: So what's the first step for someone who wants to try batching but is worried about missing something urgent? Lucas: Start with one batch. Pick a two-hour window in the morning where you don't check email. Let people know. See what happens. Most people find that nothing catastrophic occurs. Then add a second batch. The key is to start small and build confidence. Luna: And if something urgent does come up, there's always the phone. So it's not like you're unreachable. Lucas: Exactly. The truth is, very few emails are truly urgent. Most can wait a few hours. And the ones that can't, people will find another way to reach you. Luna: I think the biggest barrier is the feeling of being behind. That if you don't check constantly, you'll lose control. Lucas: That's the illusion of control. In reality, constant checking makes you feel more behind because you're seeing new messages pile up. Batching gives you a clear boundary. You process the queue and then you're done. It's a finite task. Luna: And that finite-ness reduces anxiety. It's like closing the door on the inbox until the next scheduled time. Lucas: Right. And that sense of closure is restorative. It's a small recovery moment. Which ties back to everything we've discussed on this show about microrecovery. Email batching is a microrecovery strategy for your attention. Luna: I love that framing. Email batching as recovery. Lucas: So if you're feeling overwhelmed by your inbox, try it. Start with one batch tomorrow morning. See if you can protect that first hour of your day. I think you'll be surprised at how much more you get done — and how much less drained you feel.