Time Spent on Email Calculator
Enter message volume, handling time, and work schedules to see how email impacts capacity and payroll.
Include reading, writing, filing, and context switching back into deep work.
Use an average salary rate or billing rate to convert time into cost.
Inbox Time Summary
Daily minutes
188 min
≈ 3.13 hours each day
Weekly hours
15.6 h
Based on 5 workdays/week
Yearly hours
750 h
≈ 18.8 work weeks of focus time
How to Use This Calculator
Track your inbox habits
Sample a few days to estimate how many messages you send, reply to, or triage in a typical day.
Estimate handling time
Include opening the email, scanning content, replying, attaching files, and time to refocus afterward.
Convert time to cost
Multiply hours by salary or billable rate to justify automation, templates, or async communication alternatives.
Formula
Daily Minutes = Emails per Day × Minutes per Email
Weekly Hours = (Daily Minutes ÷ 60) × Workdays
Annual Hours = Weekly Hours × Work Weeks
Annual Cost = Annual Hours × Hourly Value
Example: 75 emails × 2.5 minutes = 188 minutes/day. With 5 workdays/week → 15.7 hours/week. Over 48 weeks =755 hours/year. At $45/hour that is $33,966.
Reduce Email Overload
Once you know the hidden cost of email, you can reclaim time for deep work, clients, or creative projects.
- Batch email checks a few times per day instead of reacting instantly.
- Use templates, snippets, or AI drafting to respond faster.
- Promote asynchronous project tools for updates and approvals.
- Set response expectations with autoresponders or team norms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include newsletters and spam?
Yes, if you spend time sorting or unsubscribing. Purging low-value mail can create measurable time savings.
What if handling time varies a lot?
Average a few quick one-liners with longer messages to get a realistic blended rate, or track separate categories.
Can teams use this calculator?
Absolutely. Multiply hours by headcount to quantify the opportunity cost of team-wide email habits.
How do I measure ROI on improvements?
Re-run the calculator after adopting automation or new norms to show reclaimed hours and reduced payroll cost.