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One Year On: Deleting the Email App and Leaving Focus On Permanently

2024-07-18

One year on from deleting the email app on my iPhone and switching Focus mode on permanently. Working across four businesses with a team of around 100, I was swamped with emails and calls. In January 2023 I deleted my em

One year on from deleting the email app on my iPhone and switching Focus mode on permanently. Working across four businesses with a team of around 100, I was swamped with emails and calls. In January 2023 I deleted my email app from my iPhone and activated Focus mode permanently to minimise distractions. We adopted Viber for work and encouraged WhatsApp for personal use. It immediately improved communication flow. My team can still reach me — bypassing Focus via Viber — and family are on a VIP list and get through without a barrier. I now check emails once every few days on my laptop, usually after lunch, which protects focused mornings. The shift also removed spam calls, aligning with our no-voicemail policy since 2010. A year later, I wouldn’t go back. The phone is a tool again, not a siren. If you’ve tried something similar — deleting email from your phone, killing answerphone, locking Focus on — I’d love to hear how it went. Consider it: less noise, more work that matters.

Topics: Business adviceSystems & softwareReflection

Matthew Eaves — escape room franchise founder, operator, and writer. Also: franchise, posts, contact.