---
title: Email Batching Saves 3 Hours Per Week
date: 2025-09-08T04:04:44.161046
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
The sunlight hits differently in the morning now, slanting through the blinds like it's trying to tell me something. I dunno, maybe it's just fall settling in. I always start my day with coffee, hoping it'll kickstart my brain into a semi-functional state, yet somehow, I end up scrolling through my email before I even realize what's happening. Isn't it wild how checking emails becomes this mindless habit? Like, how much of my day gets eaten up by those little red notifications and that constant nagging feeling that I might be missing something super critical?
I remember reading somewhere—or maybe I heard it on a podcast—about this thing called "attention residue." It's like whenever you switch from one task to another, part of your brain stays stuck on the first task. So when I'm jumping between emails and whatever else I'm supposed to be doing (usually something I don't want to do, let's be real), it takes forever for my brain to catch up. I can't remember who said it, but I think they found that it takes something like 25 minutes to fully focus after you've been interrupted. Can you imagine that? No wonder I feel like I'm always playing catch up.
So, I decided to try doing this thing called email batching. The idea is to check emails just three times a day instead of whenever the mood strikes or whenever I feel that itch. It sounds simple enough, right? Yet somehow implementing it feels like trying to stick to a new workout routine—as soon as I start, I start questioning if it even does anything. But apparently, it saves, like, three hours weekly. I mean, that’s a whole movie. Or, I dunno, a really long nap?
But me sticking to anything consistently? Ha, that’s funny. Still, I gave it a shot. Morning, midday, and evening. And, honestly, the first couple of days were rough. I kept wanting to sneak a peek—just a quick glance wouldn’t hurt, right?—but then I remembered something about this "task batching" research from who knows where, saying that grouping similar tasks together reduces the time-wasting transition stuff. I guess it makes sense, but it's hard to trust these academic types sometimes when my lived experience just feels so…scattered.
So, here I am, trying to be this person who efficiently batches their emails. Does it really work? I don't know. Maybe? I mean, I haven't magically found three extra hours lying around, so who knows? Maybe I'm just losing them elsewhere now. The other day I caught myself in an Instagram spiral, because of course. I guess it’s about shifting where I lose my time rather than finding it, which, hmm, feels both right and wrong.
In the end, I can't tell if email batching is the holy grail of productivity or if I'm just fooling myself into thinking I'm in control. It’s like shedding light on how I spend my time, but still squinting to see clearly. Maybe I’ll eventually figure it out, or maybe I’ll just keep trying, like every other half-baked attempt at self-improvement. Or maybe I’ll forget about it next week and move on to the next thing. Who really knows?