What Would You Do With An Extra 75 Minutes in Your Day?

What Would You Do with an Extra 75 Minutes in Your Day?

Under the category of “Least Mindful Things You Can Do,” checking my email while on a beautiful mountain bike ride has to top my list.

Pathetic, right?

I’d stop to catch my breath, admire the view—and then suddenly my phone would be in my hand, inbox open.

Worse yet? I read the emails.

And sometimes (cringe)... I even replied.

You see, I used to be a habitual email checker. The kind who opened the inbox before even getting out of bed. I’d check it randomly throughout the day and again after dinner. It felt like I was being productive—but I wasn’t. I was just busy.

Eventually, I got curious. How much time was I spending on email?

So, I tracked it for a month.

The average? Three hours and fifteen minutes per day.

That’s over 22 hours a week. Nearly a part-time job, just reading and replying to messages.

Multitasking Is a Myth

Every time I checked email during another task—like writing, planning, even relaxing—I told myself I was multitasking. But here’s the truth: Our brains aren’t wired for multitasking.

We can juggle multiple pieces of information, sure—but we can’t perform more than one conscious activity at a time without suffering performance drop-off. In fact, constantly switching between tasks (like writing a report while checking your inbox) can reduce your mental capacity by the same amount as losing an entire night of sleep.

Let that sink in.

What Happens When You Stop Living in Your Inbox?

Once I stopped checking email constantly, something amazing happened:

• I got more done in less time.
  
• The quality of my work improved.
  
• I could think more deeply—hello creativity and big-picture planning.
  
• My team became more independent, problem-solving without waiting for instant replies.
  
• And best of all, I got back roughly 75 minutes a day.

That’s time to move your body, play with your kids, start a side hustle, or simply rest.

3 Tips to Take Back Your Time

Want to try it for yourself? Here’s how to reclaim your minutes—maybe even hours—starting today:

1. Make a Schedule
   Decide how often you actually need to check your email. Then stick to that plan. Try putting a message in your signature to help set expectations:
   
   "P.S. In order to do my best work for you and other clients, I check email once mid-morning and once mid-afternoon. I’m offline on weekends, and I respond within 1-2 business days. Thanks for understanding!"
   

2. Eliminate All Notifications
   Unless your work involves true life-or-death situations, you don’t need real-time alerts. Turn off every banner, ding, vibration, and pop-up. Out of sight, out of stress.
   
3. Have a Plan for Emergencies
   Make sure your team or clients know how to reach you for truly urgent matters. (Hint: actual phone calls still work!)

Let’s be real: we’re not here to manage email. We’re here to live fully.

So, what could you do with an extra 75 minutes a day?

Make it count.