How to spend less time checking emails on Mac

We’re adopting a new approach to productivity in an age of information overload. Poor email habits mean that the average knowledge worker checks their email accounts more than 40 times per day. What if you could decrease those checks to a few sessions per day, so you can focus on what’s important? You can start by removing the distraction of an ever-present inbox.

Spark’s Home Screen is designed to help you spend less time checking your email by presenting you with a beautiful image that encourages you to pause and take a breath. Meaningful work requires uninterrupted attention, so we have created an environment for deep focus, allowing you to concentrate on the tasks that matter.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to avoid wasting time reading & organizing email and instead cultivate positive habits by focusing on important and quality work that matters.

How to preview new emails on Mac?

1. Download and install Spark for your Mac.
2. Sign in with your email account. You can add multiple email accounts and use them simultaneously in Spark.
3. Click on the Home icon, if not already on the Home Screen
4. At the upper right corner of the Spark window, click on the text dropdown and choose any of the following settings:
   • Hide Preview — get a text summary with a number of new emails based on their categories 
   • Show All — show preview for all new emails
   • Show People — show preview for all new emails from People
   • Show Priority — show preview only for threads and emails from senders you marked as Priority

Depending on what option you choose, Spark’s Home Screen will display a summary of new emails you’ve received in your email account.

How to use email without going into your inbox?

1. Launch Spark on your Mac
2. Click on the Home icon, if not already on the Home Screen
3. Ensure a “Preview Emails” selection is chosen from the top right 
4. Below the “Check Inbox” button, click on a select email to view the email in full
5. Navigate to the icons in the top right corner
6. Click on the Pen icon to compose emails from your Home Screen
7. Click on the Search icon to search your emails from your Home Screen 
8. Once finished with your task you’ll return directly to the Home Screen 

How to show Spark Home Screen after inactivity?

1. Launch Spark on your Mac
2. Press and hold (⌘) and press ( , )
3. Open the Home Screen section
4. Toggle “Show Home Screen” on or off
5. Change the time by entering a new number of minutes in the box

How to set a focused email schedule on Mac?

Spark for Mac provides two focused email sessions by default, in the morning and evening. You can edit, add and delete focused email sessions to suit your schedule or preference.

1. Launch Spark on your Mac.
2. Press and hold (⌘) and press ( , )
3. Open the Home Screen section
4. Toggle “Set Email Focus Schedule” on or off
5. Change the time to match your schedule

You can also:

• Add more Email Focus Time slots
• Disable any of them
• Delete any of them
• Tick a reminder option to get a notification when the Email Focus Time comes

How to disable the Spark Home Screen?

1. Launch the Spark Desktop app on your Mac
2. Press and hold (⌘) and press ( , ) to open the Preferences.
3. Navigate to the Home Screen section
4. Disable the “Enable Home Screen” toggle.

That’s how easy it is to spend less time checking your inbox, and more time on what’s really important. Download Spark for Free and switch to the best email app for Mac and Windows.