WiserHours
Menu

Follow your curiosity

Staying on top · Lesson 9 of 10

Your Inbox: Fewer Checks, Filters and Spotting Phishing

Check email less often, let filters sort it, write a good out-of-office message, and spot a fake email before you click.

FREE LESSON
Cover picture for lesson 9: Your Inbox: Fewer Checks, Filters and Spotting PhishingVideo coming soon
The video is not out yet. The written lesson below has the same content.
THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

Writing well is half the job. The other half is handling what comes in. In this lesson you learn to check email less, let filters sort it, set a good out-of-office and spot fake emails.

Check less often

Constant checking is tiring. In one study, people who checked email about three times a day, with alerts off, felt less stressed than people who checked all day. Pick three times that suit your work, and close the inbox in between.

Two timelines. The top one, Checked three times a day, has three green marks at 9:00, 13:00 and 16:30. The bottom one, Checked all day, has a long row of red dots. A crossed-out bell on the right is labeled Alerts off.(opens the full-size picture)
Three check times instead of a dot every few minutes.

Let filters sort it

Filters sort mail for you. Send newsletters, receipts and automatic alerts into their own folders, so your inbox holds only messages from people. And when you need an old email, search for it: searching was about four times faster than hunting through folders.

An inbox list called Inbox: people with messages from Priya, Sam and Dana. A funnel sends other mail into three folders: Newsletters, Receipts and Alerts. Below, a short green bar says Search: about 15 seconds and a long grey bar says Folders: about 1 minute.(opens the full-size picture)
Filters keep the inbox for people. Search beats folders.

A good out-of-office

Before you go away, set an out-of-office that does its job. Say the dates you’re away and that you’re not reading email. Name a contact for anything urgent. And say when you’ll reply, ideally the day after you’re back. Leave out your phone number and personal details.

An out-of-office card with three lines: Away 2 to 9 June, not reading email; Urgent? Contact Priya; I'll reply from 11 June. Tags read Dates, Who to call and Reply date. A crossed chip says Phone number, personal details.(opens the full-size picture)
Dates, a contact and a reply date. No personal details.

Spot a fake email

Some emails aren’t what they seem. Check four things: the real sender address, pressure to act fast, any request for money, a login or a code, and where a link really goes. Clean spelling proves nothing, because scammers use AI tools too.

A fake email with the subject Urgent: verify your account within 24 hours, from it-support@yourcompany-helpdesk.co. It says Enter your password to keep it and Click here to log in. Warning marks label Pressure to act fast, Sender address, Asks for a password and Link goes elsewhere. A red box shows the real link address, and a chip says Good spelling proves nothing.(opens the full-size picture)
Four warning signs in one email.

Check, then report

If a request seems odd, even from a colleague’s real address, call them on a number you already know. Then report the email, both in your email program and to your country’s scam reporting service.

Check, then report

Calling to check is the safest step, because a scammer can copy a colleague’s name but not answer the phone as them. After that, report it so others are protected too.

Three numbered steps: 1 a person on the phone, Call to check; 2 a red flag, Report it in your email; 3 a shield and a globe, Report to your country's service.(opens the full-size picture)
Call to check, then report in two places.

YOUR TURN

Read more

Read the full lesson script

Welcome back. Writing well is half the job. The other half is handling what comes in. In this lesson, you'll learn to check email less, let filters sort it, set a good out-of-office, and spot fake emails.

Constant checking is tiring. In one study, people who checked email about three times a day, with alerts off, felt less stressed than people who checked all day. Pick three times that suit your work, and close the inbox in between.

Filters can sort mail for you. Send newsletters, receipts and automatic alerts into their own folders, so your inbox holds only messages from people. And when you need an old email, search for it: searching was about four times faster than hunting through folders.

Before you go away, set an out-of-office that does its job. Say the dates you're away and that you're not reading email. Name a contact for anything urgent. And say when you'll reply, ideally the day after you're back. Leave out your phone number and personal details.

Some emails aren't what they seem. Check four things: the real sender address, pressure to act fast, any request for money, a login or a code, and where a link really goes. Clean spelling proves nothing, because scammers use AI tools too.

If a request seems odd, even from a colleague's real address, call them on a number you already know to check. Then report the email, both in your email program and to the scam reporting service in your country.

So remember: check email a few times a day, with alerts off. Let filters sort newsletters and receipts, and search instead of digging through folders. And before you act on an urgent request, check the sender, the pressure, and the link. Before the next lesson, set up one filter, and choose your three checking times. Next, you'll use AI safely, and make your writing checklist.