Christopher used to check email constantly throughout the day. Each check triggered a cascade of micro-decisions: Read now or later? Respond immediately or flag for follow-up? Delete or archive? CC who? How urgent is this really?
He estimated spending "maybe 30 minutes" daily on email. His tracking revealed the truth: 2.5 hours scattered across the day in 3-5 minute chunks. Worse, each email interruption required 15-20 minutes to refocus on his original task. Email wasn't just stealing time—it was destroying his productivity.
Then Christopher discovered batching. He now checks email twice daily: 11 AM and 4 PM. Total email time dropped to 45 minutes. More importantly, he makes better email decisions because he's comparing priorities across all messages, not deciding in isolation.
This chapter reveals how batching similar decisions transforms your cognitive efficiency and why your brain desperately wants you to stop task-switching.