We do we keep opening our inbox?

Six surprisingly common reasons we find ourselves in there. If you’ve ever attended one of my Working Smarter webinars, you’ll have heard me say: “You don’t go in your inbox looking for happiness.”

As it's primarily a collection of other people's requests, needs, and priorities, it tends to add to your workload, not reduce it.

And yet, many of us find ourselves opening it over and over again.

Not because a notification has popped up. Not because we’ve deliberately set aside time to process email.

But because opening our inbox has become our default response to certain kinds of feelings.

The interesting thing is that most people don't realise they're using it that way.

The inbox as a place we drift into

When working with someone who feels distracted by email, I ask them to monitor what prompts them to open their inbox over a few days. When we review the results, some fascinating patterns emerge.

While there are plenty of communication-related reasons for opening the application – like expecting an important update, sending information, or looking for a specific email - many visits are triggered by something else entirely:

• A piece of work becomes difficult.

• There's ten minutes before the next meeting.

• A report isn't going as easily as hoped.

The next thing they know, they’re opening their inbox.

Once people start paying attention to this, they realise we aren’t always going in there to communicate. Often, we're looking for something else.

Here are six surprisingly common reasons we open our inbox.

1. The 'just-in-case' check

A high amount of inbox checking is rooted in a need for reassurance. We tell ourselves, "I just want to make sure I haven't missed anything."

This is entirely understandable. Email contains requests, decisions, opportunities and information we need to know about. Sometimes, there really is something important waiting for us.

But often, we’re checking not because something is likely to have arrived, but because not knowing feels uncomfortable.

Whether it's a fear of missing something important, falling behind, or simply being out of the loop, our inbox provides a route back to comfort and certainty.

Just a quick look, just in case, and the worry temporarily disappears.

The challenge is that each time the checking relieves that feeling, the habit is re-enforced. Before long, the inbox becomes a way of reassuring ourselves rather than simply a communication tool.

2. The good news gambit

Email operates on what behavioural psychologists call an unpredictable (variable) reward schedule. Most emails are routine ones. But sometimes your inbox holds an invitation, praise for a job well done, or some interesting news.

Our brains quickly learn that something good might be in there, so we constantly go looking. It's the exact same psychological mechanism that keeps people scrolling social media feeds or pushing a slot machine button.

We don’t open our email because every visit is rewarding; we open it because we never quite know when we’ll hit the 'jackpot'.

3. The achievement hit

Many forms of knowledge work are difficult to measure in the moment. When you’re analysing data, writing a proposal or working on a detailed design, the effort happens long before the final outcome is visible.

Email is different. We can quickly read, reply, forward or delete. Every message dealt with creates a micro-sense of accomplishment.

As human beings, we naturally crave progress. The problem is responding to emails can create the feeling of productivity without necessarily moving anything important forward.

4. The 'I’m here' message

Unlike products on a factory line, knowledge work is broadly invisible to others. The analysing, synthesising and problem-solving all happen inside our heads.

In a hybrid or remote environment, that can sometimes leave us wondering if our colleagues recognise our value or even know we’re working.

Email provides a visible signal. Every response demonstrates availability, and every reply shows engagement. Responding quickly reassures us that others see us as helpful, reliable, and involved - proving that we matter.

The temptation, however, is that we begin to equate being responsive with being productive.

5. The hard-task detour

Some tasks are straightforward. Others require us to focus deeply, solve complex problems or tackle something we've never encountered before.

When work becomes difficult, ambiguous or mentally demanding, it's natural to seek relief. And email offers it.

Unlike the report you're struggling to write or the presentation you're reluctant to start, email provides an instant opportunity to make progress.

Spend ten minutes scrolling social media, you’d recognise it as procrastination.

But if you spend those same ten minutes checking your inbox for the fourth time that hour, it somehow feels useful.

You’re not avoiding work altogether; you’re just avoiding that particular piece of work. That's what makes email such a persuasive distraction.

6. The in-between shuffle

Not every visit to our inbox is driven by a need to escape. Sometimes, we're simply between tasks. A meeting has ended early, someone is late joining a call, or we’ve finished one task and haven't decided what to do next.

When a small pocket of unoccupied time appears, we can find ourselves opening our inbox before we even realise we're heading there. We don't do it because anything urgent needs doing, but because it gives our attention somewhere to go.

Many of us are surprisingly uncomfortable with unoccupied moments of waiting.

Reaching for email gives us something to do, a convenient way of filling the space between activities.

What am I looking for?

We often assume we're opening our inbox because of what's inside it. What I've observed is that we're just as likely to be responding to something inside of us: a feeling of difficulty or discomfort.

And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

But, if you regularly find yourself spending a lot of time in your inbox and want to build a more intentional relationship with email, it starts with awareness.

The next time you find your mouse drifting toward the email icon, pause for a second and ask yourself one question:

What am I looking for in here?

That single question often reveals more than we expect. And once you begin to recognise what you're really searching for, you can make a more conscious choice about whether opening your inbox is the best place to find it. Most people don't need help dealing with email. They need help understanding the habits, assumptions and distractions shaping their workday.

A Workday Rethink Session offers the opportunity to step back and explore what's really driving your behaviour at work. Together we'll identify the patterns competing for your attention and find practical ways to work with greater focus, intention and control.