Deliverance from email

Five things email providers can do to help those too lazy or too busy to manage their inboxes better.

We’re all hounded by our emails. I know my editor is. No, they’re not all from me—though I do send a lot of emails, I also receive a lot of them. I spend nearly 15 hours per week on email. (I won’t embarrass myself further by revealing how much time I waste on Facebook.) Various online surveys disclose that 9 out of 10 people spend over seven hours per week dealing with email. Isn’t it time we did something about it? No, it’s not.

We’re slaves to email. The only people who can release us from ‘email hell’ are the omnipotent service providers. I plead with Gmail (and others will follow suit) to save us from our bloated inboxes and, while I’m at it, present five ideas for them to consider writing into future email programmes.

Pre-written ‘replies’ save time (cellphones already offer this for quick SMS): Some messages shouldn’t have to be typed every time. Let me reply with ‘Yes’, ‘Later’, ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Maybe’ at the click of a button.

Eliminate the ‘reply-to-all’ button: If you insist on having it, at least issue a ‘warning’ every time someone attempts it.

Let’s learn from Twitter. When it comes to conversations, less is more. Please allow me to insulate myself from all messages that exceed a word limit specified by me.

Help me plan my email feed: Given a choice, I’d like my newsletters only after 4 pm. Email from my credit card company, never. And work-related emails strictly between 6 and 12 in the morning. Right now, everything shows up refugee-like on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

Monthly word limit for outgoing email: As long as email is free, storage unlimited and no external controls, I’m never going to stop. (If I want more, I’ll pay.)

At the end of the day, there are many things you and I can do to fight our email problems, but there’s nothing quite like the supply being capped at the source or, at the very least, controlled. Don’t you agree?

About The Author

Avinash Subramaniam