100 CEOs and top execs told us their email hacks — here are the top 7

Email is simply a basal portion of astir workdays, but for a engaged CEO aliases founder, it tin besides go a awesome distraction.

That's a taxable we've heard many times successful interviews for Power Hours, Business Insider's bid astir really CEOs, founders, investors, and nationalist figures walk their days.

Some of the group we've talked to aftermath up to hundreds of messages and tackle them correct away. Others debar email for portion of the time aliases person systems to determine what really needs their attention. A few, for illustration John Paul DeJoria, don't moreover person an email address.

We asked ChatGPT to analyse each 100 Power Hours interviews published arsenic of this penning and place the astir useful strategies our sources usage to negociate their inboxes.

Here are 7 email habits and rules that stood out.

1. They determine what needs to get done earlier opening their inbox

Carter Reum, the cofounder of venture-capital patient M13, writes down a fewer tactical tasks and 1 aliases 2 bigger priorities while drinking his greeting java — each earlier opening his inbox.

Reum said that erstwhile he starts reference email, he's reacting to what everyone other wants from him. It's why he follows a norm he learned years ago: "Don't fto your inbox beryllium your to-do list." Once he does get to email, Reum uses Superhuman and starts pinch messages flagged arsenic important.

Claudia Romo Edelman, the laminitis of Sotol Romo, besides thinks astir her priorities earlier getting into email aliases meetings. She identifies what she calls her "big rocks," aliases the astir important things she needs to execute that day.

Former Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John wakes up astir 5:30 a.m. and spends up to an hr meditating, reading, aliases praying earlier looking astatine email aliases texts.

2. They springiness email a circumstantial clip slot successful their day

Rebecca Minkoff utilized to cheque her email first point successful the morning. About 3 years ago, she stopped. Now, the manner designer and entrepreneur builds 30-minute blocks into her schedule to publication and respond to email.

Loren Castle, the CEO of Sweet Loren's, besides groups email into circumstantial parts of her day. She uses what she calls "calendar stacking," scheduling calls and email activity back-to-back truthful she tin move done them much efficiently.

Lyft CEO David Risher doesn't commencement his greeting pinch email either. He yet checks email and Slack for thing urgent, and he spends different 45 minutes connected email aft dinner.

The schedules are different, but the thought is similar: Email gets a spot successful the time alternatively than changeless attention.

3. They support replies short

Roland Busch, the CEO of Siemens, gets astir 200 emails a time and tries to support less than 100 sitting successful his inbox. He said he responds quickly, and astir of his replies are simply "OK" aliases "No." If he needs to nonstop a longer response, he'll sometimes dictate it while stepping done the office.

Kristin Patrick, the CMO of Marc Jacobs, uses what she calls a three-line rule. If an email consequence needs to beryllium longer than 3 lines, she'd alternatively get connected a speedy call.

4. They automate aliases delegate parts of their inbox

Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki wrote AI scripts to thief him surface his email. When he opens his laptop aliases phone, 1 of the scripts sends him a consolidated connection pinch the astir important accusation and a summary of what happened complete the erstwhile 24 hours.

For astir 17 years, Naya CEO Hady Kfoury received a transcript of each customer reappraisal that came done Yelp, Google, aliases customer support. He yet handed that work to personification he trusted, who now sends him a play report. That reduced the number of emails Kfoury receives by astatine slightest 150 a day.

And erstwhile Anders Kurtén, the CEO of Fraser Yachts, is traveling, he relies connected his squad to triage incoming emails and calls.

5. They group a stopping constituent astatine night

Bold Bean Co. CEO Amelia Christie-Miller uses an app called Opal to support herself from checking email precocious astatine night. Opal locks her retired of email, Instagram, LinkedIn, and different apps aft 9:30 p.m. She said the move to Opal was "game-changing."

For Forvr Mood laminitis Jackie Aina, the cutoff is earlier. After astir 6 aliases 7 p.m., she stops answering emails and moving connected her phone.

Jessica Hoppe, the CEO of The World Residences, sometimes catches up connected activity while her kids slumber successful connected the weekends, but she marks those emails "for Monday," truthful labor cognize they aren't expected to respond immediately.

6. They cognize erstwhile email isn't the champion option

For immoderate leaders, managing email intends utilizing it less.

Kevin O'Leary doesn't do email anymore. The "Shark Tank" investor told Business Insider that he receives betwixt 2,000 and 4,000 emails a day. After trying different ways to select them, he decided not to walk his clip managing the volume. People who really request him cognize to usage messaging instead.

Wolfgang Puck besides prefers much nonstop communication. His afternoons see calls pinch chefs and edifice managers astir the world because he doesn't for illustration email and believes talking to personification gives him a amended consciousness of what they're trying to communicate.

At Synthesia, CEO Victor Riparbelli said labor don't usage email internally. The institution communicates done Slack. For outer communication, he splits his clip betwixt email and WhatsApp and said he prefers instant messaging erstwhile the narration allows it.

7. Mark Cuban makes email activity for him

Mark Cuban is astatine the different extremity of the spectrum. He receives astir 700 emails a time and uses 3 phones — 2 Androids and an iPhone — to negociate them. Most will get a response.

Cuban told Business Insider he'd alternatively person 700 to 1,000 emails than walk his clip successful "long, boring meetings."

He has a strategy and said Gmail's suggested responses tin grip astir 10% to 20% of his messages pinch a tap. When they can't, group who email him cognize to expect short responses.

He besides uses folders to enactment organized and has utilized abstracted accounts erstwhile his email measurement became excessively overmuch for 1 relationship to handle. For Cuban, email isn't thing he's trying to avoid. He likes that it's asynchronous and searchable.

His attack is different from astir connected this list, but the broader thought is the same: He has a strategy for email alternatively of letting email dictate really he spends his time.