15 - If You're Spending Hours in Your Inbox Every Day, You're Not Running Your Business
Spending hours in your inbox every day? You’re not running your business—your inbox is running you. This episode reveals a system to escape email overload: automate responses, use AI sorting, delegate to an assistant, and shift key conversations to async tools. Free up time for high-leverage activities and scale faster.
If You’re Spending Hours in Your Inbox Every Day, You’re Not Running Your Business
Most entrepreneurs think managing their inbox is part of running their business. In reality, it’s one of the biggest time traps holding them back. If you’re constantly answering emails, you’re not leading—you’re reacting. And that means your inbox is running you instead of the other way around.
The Problem With Email Overload
Your inbox is not a productivity tool—it’s a never-ending stream of tasks that other people assign to you. Every email pulls your focus away from strategic work, slowing decision-making and keeping you stuck in operations instead of growth.
Successful entrepreneurs don’t let email dictate their time. They build systems that ensure they only engage with what truly matters.
How to Escape the Inbox Trap
1. Track & Automate
Start by analyzing your inbox. How many emails actually require your attention? Most are repetitive, low-value tasks. Set up filters, AI-based sorting, and automated responses to eliminate unnecessary email clutter.
2. Delegate Email Management
An executive assistant can filter your inbox, flagging only high-priority messages that genuinely require your input. This alone can free up hours of your week.
3. Move Critical Conversations Out of Email
Email is a terrible tool for decision-making. Shift key discussions to asynchronous communication platforms like Slack or Notion, where teams can collaborate efficiently without endless email threads.
The Real Cost of Staying in Your Inbox
Every hour spent in email is an hour not spent on high-leverage activities—strategy, leadership, and business growth. If you’re still checking your own inbox for hours every day, you’re limiting your own success.
Listen to this episode to learn how to escape email overload, delegate effectively, and focus on what truly moves your business forward.
Highlights:
00:00 Escaping the Email Trap
00:16 Strategies to Manage Your Inbox
00:43 Delegating Email Management
00:51 Reclaim Your Time
Links:
Website: https://www.marcogrueter.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcogrueter/
Transcript:
If you're spending hours in your inbox every day, you're not running your business. Your inbox is running you for the past month. I haven't read a single email because nothing significant happens in my inbox. Your inbox is a to-do list that other people control how to escape the inbox. Track first, use automation set up, prepare responses, use AI sorting and rules to organize emails.
Second, hire an executive assistant. Let someone else filter what truly needs your attention First. Move critical conversation out of email. Use Slack notion or other as synchronous tools. Your time is your most valuable asset. If you're still trapped in your inbox, it's time to break free. Instead, I delegate email management.
Bring up my time to focus on high leverage activities that grow my business. Ask yourself for how many hours do you still check your own emails?