For early-career entrepreneurs, email can be a golden opportunity and a trap. On one hand, it can connect them with investors, clients, and new opportunities. On the other hand, it can be spam emails filled with newsletters, cold pitches, follow-ups, and endless notifications. Most of them constantly keep checking emails, thinking this one may be a life-changing inbox. Studies show that professionals spend around 28% percent of their time in the workweek, that is around 11 hours every week. For entrepreneurs, those 11 hours are not just lost for them, but they lose opportunities to focus on product development, planning and implementing strategies, and a bigger vision to start.

The science behind the number of emails explains why it drains both productivity and decision-making ability. Cognitive psychology highlights that the brain has a limited attention span. Every time an entrepreneur checks their inbox, they engage in task switching. Research from the American Psychological Association shows that switching tasks regularly can reduce 40% of productive time due to cognitive reorientation. Each email, whether it's urgent or just a spam email, requires what scientists call “attention residue”. This is the lingering distraction left behind when the brain doesn’t fully disengage from one task before starting another. Every entrepreneur juggles with investors on call, showcasing multiple product demos and strategic decisions, which requires attention. Attention residue lowers creativity among entrepreneurs, reduces strong decision-making, and can increase mental fatigue.

A 2019 McKinsey study revealed that professionals check their emails on average 74 times per day. Mathematically, that’s once every 8 minutes in a working day. The same found more numbers among entrepreneurs because at every minute, they fear missing an important investor message or an urgent email. Neuroscience research explains why this compulsion exists. Each time an entrepreneur refreshes their inbox, they find new emails. At that time, the brain releases a small dose of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter. It is linked with reward. Over time, this behaviour turns into a habit. Even in a focused mood, if you work, it reinforces the brain to check the inboxes.

The cost of this constant checking of inboxes goes beyond wasted time. A Stanford University study found that entrepreneurs already face higher stress than working professionals. It has been reported to have a 72% higher rate of mental fatigue and burnout. When emails keep overloading, it creates decision fatigue. When the brain keeps thinking whether to open the email, reply, or not to reply, it leaves fewer cognitive resources for high-level strategic decisions. For an early-stage entrepreneur whose decision can be important at every stage of work, this decision-making can be costly.

Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of the email productivity platform called Superhuman, has openly shared his habit of constant email checking. He shared how checking emails drained his focus and decision-making capacity in his early startup. He noticed that endless emails and notifications, tons of client messages, and the habit of checking dozens of emails every day led to distraction and lowered his decision-making skills. This frustration pushed him to design a superhuman. It came with features like faster workflows, prioritization filters, and zero inbox principles. This innovation showed how email management can turn chaos into clarity. His experience teaches the early entrepreneurs why it's important to handle emails. Managing emails is about maintaining mental clarity, creativity, strategy, and growth.

Rahul's theory is even supported by science. According to a 2017 study that was published in Computers in Human Behavior, people who only checked their emails three times a day reported feeling less stressed than other people. Entrepreneurs who adhered to structured email patterns reported increased focus and well-being, according to another study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The brain's decision-making process is the cause. Entrepreneurs can lessen the stress of continuously checking their emails and stay focused for longer by sorting their emails according to importance.

There is also evidence that overloading of emails can directly impact innovation. Innovation is an important lifeline for entrepreneurs. According to research from the University of California, Irvine, workers who were interrupted by emails expressed more stress, a faster heartbeat, and a diminished capacity for original problem-solving. This diversion can be detrimental to early-career business owners whose success hinges on innovative thinking and flexibility. Restoring their inbox habit allows them to have more mental space for experimentation, brainstorming, and creativity.

But you're thinking, why is it important to manage tons of emails for early-career entrepreneurs? Most of the established companies have an assistant, manager, or system that manages their emails and reduces decision overload. But a solo founder has to manage it all alone, from checking emails to marketing to product development. Without controlling it, the inbox can become a black hole. This black hole can pull their energy away from growth-driving activities.

The good news is that change does not require big steps. Behavioral design suggests that even small changes like setting up filters, managing responses, or setting an “email hour” can create a shift in focus and output. Entrepreneurs who manage emails aren’t just eliminating clutter, but they are also increasing their decision-making skills and attention span.

In the end, email is not the enemy. It matters how entrepreneurs manage it. For early-career entrepreneurs, mastering the inbox can really help them in their business. The science is clear that a managed inbox can reduce stress, increase decision-making, and mental clarity. For anyone building something new, that could be the competitive edge that can turn a fragile idea into a thriving enterprise.

.    .    .

References:

• American Psychological Association (APA). Multitasking: Switching costs.
• McKinsey & Company (2019). The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies.
• Mark, G., Voida, S., & Cardello, A. (2012). “A Pace Not Dictated by Electrons”: An Empirical Study of Work Without Email. University of California, Irvine.
• Kushlev, K., & Dunn, E. W. (2015). Checking email less frequently reduces stress. Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 220–228.
• Journal of Applied Psychology (2020). Email demands, burnout, and engagement.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business (2018). Entrepreneurial stress and burnout.
• Signorini, A., et al. (2019). Decision fatigue and productivity loss in entrepreneurs.