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Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done Kindle Edition
Let's face it: Email is killing our productivity. The average person checks their email 11 times per hour, processes 122 messages a day, and spends 28 percent of their total workweek managing their inbox. What was once a powerful and essential tool for doing our daily work has become a near-constant source of frustration, anxiety, and distraction from our work.
Unsubscribe will show you how to tame your inbox and reclaim your focus, with tips on how to:
- Break free from email addiction and the "inbox zero" obsession
- Build a daily email routine that reduces stress and anxiety
- Process your inbox based on what (and who) really matters to you
- Write messages that get people to pay attention and take action
- Set boundaries and say "no" to time-wasting distractions
- Plan your day around meaningful work -- not busywork
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPublicAffairs
- Publication dateOctober 4, 2016
- File size8294 KB

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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Office productivity may be a dorky subject, but Glei is dusting off the cobwebs. If one of your resolutions is to finally get on top of your inbox, the 'email whisperer' can help." --The Sunday Times
"Email - it's a good servant but a bad master. Packed with insights, practical strategies, and engaging illustrations, Unsubscribe is an invaluable resource for making great use of email." --Gretchen Rubin // Bestselling author, Better Than Before
"This is a vitally important book, an urgent call for reason that can transform the way you spend hours every day." --Seth Godin // Entrepreneur & Bestselling author
"Unsubscribe is an unfailingly smart, funny and down-to-earth guide to mastering email so that it no longer masters us." --Oliver Burkeman // Guardian columnist & author
"Before you declare email bankruptcy, read Unsubscribe!" --Simon Sinek // Bestselling author, Start With Why
"Unsubscribe is full of good advice." --Shane Parrish // Founder, Farnam Street
"I highly recommend Unsubscribe. Lots of simple, actionable tips for anyone who uses email (which is everyone reading this)." --Jeff Sheldon // Founder, Ugmonk
"I started reading Jocelyn's new book over lunch and didn't want to put it down." --Tina Essmaker // Editor-in-Chief, The Great Discontent
"Unsubscribe has completely changed the way I work." --Dan Mall // Founder, SuperFriendly
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B01IAIZAM6
- Publisher : PublicAffairs; 1st edition (October 4, 2016)
- Publication date : October 4, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 8294 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 238 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,693 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #515 in Time Management Self-Help eBooks
- #1,040 in Time Management in Business
- #1,695 in Time Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jocelyn K. Glei is a writer who’s obsessed with how we can find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. Her latest book, “Unsubscribe”, is a modern guide to getting rid of email anxiety, reclaiming your productivity, and spending more time on the work that matters. Her previous works include “Manage Your Day-to-Day”, “Maximize Your Potential”, and “Make Your Mark”, which offer pragmatic, actionable advice for creatives on managing their time, their careers, and their businesses. She was formerly the founding director of the 99U Conference and editor of 99u.com, which earned two Webby Awards for Best Cultural Blog and a rabid fan base of productivity nerds. She lives in upstate New York and online at www.jkg.co.
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book helpful and practical with useful examples. They find it a necessary guide for savvy email use, providing templates to help write more effective emails. The book is concise and easy to read, with great respect for busy modern readers. It helps them understand, reduce, and manage distractions so they can get the real work done.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book's advice helpful and practical. They appreciate the examples and explanations of how to use them. The book provides insights and tools for managing inboxes.
"...about email etiquette didn't help me as much, but they are still excellent advice...." Read more
"...It's pretty simplistic but a lot of good takawaways and helpful tips. Very quick and worthwhile read if you're into productivity, etc." Read more
"...There are many useful examples to help you along with explanations of why you would use particular wording...." Read more
"...Recommended for busy people who use a computer ( I.e. Pretty much everyone these days)" Read more
Customers find the book helpful for managing their email effectively. They appreciate the practical advice and templates provided to craft better emails. The book is concise, with a philosophical approach to managing your time and emails. Readers describe it as a useful guide for effective email management and consider it a "bible" for effective use of email.
"...to be put into a concentrated form and delivered with urgency and concision, just might get you to take action to tame your inbox this time...." Read more
"I enjoyed this. It's pretty simplistic but a lot of good takawaways and helpful tips. Very quick and worthwhile read if you're into productivity, etc." Read more
"I enjoyed reading this book. The overarching idea is to more effectively manage your email so you can do the work that really means something...." Read more
"...Easy to read and very practical." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and recommend it. They say it's a quick, useful guide on email that can be read in an hour. The author seems to have respect for modern readers and provides helpful tips and tricks.
"...This book is well worth the attention you give to it, and I think the writer has great respect for the busy modern reader. Recommended!" Read more
"I enjoyed this. It's pretty simplistic but a lot of good takawaways and helpful tips. Very quick and worthwhile read if you're into productivity, etc." Read more
"I enjoyed reading this book. The overarching idea is to more effectively manage your email so you can do the work that really means something...." Read more
"This excellent little book can be read in an hour, and halfway through I was itching to get started on the practical little hacks it recommended...." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for managing distractions.
"...to me in reclaiming my time and having a better work flow with fewer distractions. Easy to read and very practical." Read more
"...How to understand, reduce, and manage distractions so you can get the real work done. I highly recommend this book." Read more
"Cuts to the heart of our current challenge: avoiding distractions to focus on what really matters. Lots of great tools/templates as well!" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2016In these info overloaded days, a book should not be any longer than is necessary, and this book is also mercifully short saving us and the author time and hits the point immediately. Much of the techniques stated in the book, you may already know, but to be put into a concentrated form and delivered with urgency and concision, just might get you to take action to tame your inbox this time. Two of the biggest benefits to me personally, so far, have been to set up VIP inboxes and to give up the unachievable goal of "Inbox Zero". I felt my life improve almost immediately afterwards and asked myself "Why didn't I do this sooner?" The parts about email etiquette didn't help me as much, but they are still excellent advice. This book is well worth the attention you give to it, and I think the writer has great respect for the busy modern reader. Recommended!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2016I enjoyed this. It's pretty simplistic but a lot of good takawaways and helpful tips. Very quick and worthwhile read if you're into productivity, etc.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2018I enjoyed reading this book. The overarching idea is to more effectively manage your email so you can do the work that really means something. There are many useful examples to help you along with explanations of why you would use particular wording. When it comes down to it, email just doesn’t have to take over your whole day!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2017A lot of obvious tips but could be a good read for a new college grad making his/her way.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016This excellent little book can be read in an hour, and halfway through I was itching to get started on the practical little hacks it recommended. There a heap of prewritten templates provided to help you respond to requests or ask for help via email too. Thanks to this book, I feel like I'm getting my head above water with my emails finally! And it's also made me aware of how insidiously email overload is draining my productivity. Recommended for busy people who use a computer ( I.e. Pretty much everyone these days)
- Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2017This was very helpful to me in reclaiming my time and having a better work flow with fewer distractions. Easy to read and very practical.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2016A quick read over a few evenings, Unsubscribe gives the sort of actionable advice that's a trademark of Glei's past 99u work. Much is common sense, smack-yourself-in-the-forehead-why-didn't-I-realize-this-before? advice, but here it's concisely organized and geared toward truly improving your communication.
The pragmatic "Cheat Sheets" in the closing chapter give clear examples of the psychology, strategy, and style points she covers in the first three chapters and put you on an immediate path toward better email. This is the user manual that should have come with every email application.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2016If you want to rethink how you spend your time, in order to pursue work that matters, then read this book. Jocelyn helps us understand why we're so addicted to email, and then shares steps we can take to break out of it. She even provides templates to help us write more effective emails. Once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down. And, even better, you'll walk away with at least three things you can do right now to get out of your inbox and back to work that matters.
Top reviews from other countries
- Fiona ThomasReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable and helpful
Easy to read and full of research and tips that work. I deleted my email app after reading this and it made my productivity levels soar and my anxiety improved!
- Vicki BreretonReviewed in Australia on November 2, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Get your email under control
A must read to help unravel the noise of email management
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in India on December 21, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars currently reading, but the book gives a lot of ...
currently reading, but the book gives a lot of factual insights about people with the attitude of getting hooked onto emails and getting controlled by emails than being creative at work. Most of us unknowingly work as per emails which not necessarily is creative but is actually someone else's transaction and issues that need to be resolved. This takes away our real productivity. This helps us sort and prioritize our work. Worth a read.
-
Yuri Rodrigues BrazReviewed in Brazil on December 21, 2016
2.0 out of 5 stars Limitado
A maioria dos tópicos tem aplicabilidade específica, e as lições focam muito no que fazer, deixando a fundamentação em segundo plano.
- Sylvain RoyReviewed in Canada on December 3, 2016
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, quick and humorous read on our relation to email
Common sense tips and techniques for everyday use of emails... makes a good statement of how this tool invades our life nowadays. Let's try not to become it's slave!