Should You Answer Emails After 7pm?

The joys of remote working: your commute is a brisk 12 steps from the kettle, you’ve developed a committed relationship with your houseplants, and you can wear pyjama bottoms to meetings without a shred of shame. But there's a dark side to this dream. A creeping, sneaky one. It’s called: just quickly checking your emails after dinner.

You know the drill. You're halfway through a crime drama, bowl of pasta in hand, when you hear the siren song of your inbox. “It might be urgent,” you tell yourself. “I’ll just have a quick look.” Cut to 11pm: you're elbows deep in spreadsheets and eating biscuits like a stressed-out squirrel.

The Blurry Boundary Problem

When your office is also your spare room (or kitchen table, or the arm of the sofa you've ceremoniously declared 'desk-like'), the line between work and home gets smudged. Not gently blurred - more like rubbed out by an overenthusiastic toddler with a crayon.

And email, with its passive-aggressive little ping, becomes the master of ceremonies for this circus. It’s always there. Waiting. Staring. Judging.

But What If It’s Important?

Sure, sometimes there's something pressing. But be honest - how often is it really a life-or-deadline situation after 7pm? Most of the time it’s someone else working late, throwing tasks like confetti into your inbox so they can sleep better. But why should their time management become your late-night admin?

The Science Bit

Your brain, like a good dog, needs rest. It needs to sniff around, chase imaginary rabbits, and generally switch off from work things. If you’re always 'just checking in', your brain never gets to hit the reset button. And no, 'scrolling LinkedIn in the bath' doesn’t count as rest.

A Gentle Nudge to Log Off

This isn’t about going full digital detox and moving to a yurt. It's about creating some kind of cut-off - 7pm is a good shout. That’s when the working day starts to overstay its welcome like a guest who won’t stop talking about cryptocurrency.

So here’s your gentle nudge:

Shut the laptop. Mute the notifications. Light a candle if that helps you feel ceremonious. Go for a walk. Watch something terrible. Text a friend. Eat that snack you hid from yourself. Do literally anything that isn’t replying to Alan from accounts about Q2 projections.

Because your actual life - the one with friends, family, hobbies, and the potential for impromptu dancing in the kitchen - is waiting. And it’s much more fun than your inbox.