Fortune | FORTUNE 07月23日 23:06
Billionaire Mark Cuban reads around 700 emails every day in his quest for near inbox zero—and prefers that to ‘boring’ meetings
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亿万富翁马克·库班每天处理高达700至1000封邮件,甚至认为这比参加冗长的会议更高效。他偏爱邮件沟通,认为其易于搜索和存档,并能异步处理全球事务。库班拥有一套独特的邮件管理体系,包括利用AI自动回复和“打字技巧”来节省时间,并使用文件夹进行分类。尽管他从不追求“收件箱归零”,但会控制未读邮件数量。这种高度的邮件投入,使得库班几乎全年无休地处理邮件,除非遇到家庭等特殊事件,他认为这样能更快地完成工作。

📧 邮件是库班偏爱的沟通方式:他认为邮件比Slack、短信或电话更高效,因为邮件可以被搜索和存档数十年,他拥有可以追溯到20世纪90年代的邮件记录,并且可以方便地嵌入各种格式的内容。

🤖 AI助力邮件处理:库班会利用Gmail推荐的回复或AI撰写自动回复,将其作为“打字技巧”来节省时间和精力,尽管他通常会在此基础上添加个人风格,以提高回复效率。

🗂️ 有序管理与目标设定:他使用文件夹来组织海量邮件,并有意识地保留少量未读邮件作为提醒,目标是将未读邮件控制在20封以内,有时甚至能少于10封,这需要持续的收件箱清理。

⚡️ 全年无休的邮件投入:库班表示自己很难完全脱离邮件,仅在家庭的特殊事件等“非凡时刻”才会短暂离开,他认为快速处理邮件是提高效率的关键,即使这意味着几乎每天都在处理邮件。

The billionaire entrepreneur spends all day dipping in and out of his inbox—he even likes sifting through hundreds of emails a day, more than in-person meetings. 

“I receive around 700 emails a day and use three phones (two Android and one iPhone) to manage everything,” Cuban wrote to Business Insider, ironically over email. I’d rather get 700 to 1,000 emails than sit in long, boring meetings.”

Cuban told Business Insider that his day is “boring,” emailing in spurts around his morning decaf coffee and cookie, shower, and taking his daughter to school. He then gets in a workout session at Life Time Fitness before taking a second shower and returning to his inbox.

“I read and respond to emails. I work out. I read and respond to emails. I do a couple Zooms. Then I read and respond to emails. Then I eat dinner. Then I read and respond to emails.”

People may expect the iconic ex-Shark Tank investor to have an assistant run his email for him—but he’s adamant on doing it all himself, reasoning it’ll only “slow things down.” But he isn’t simply hacking away at unread emails with a strategy; Cuban has forged a calculated plan throughout the years to whittle down his messages efficiently. 

Using his favorite communication method, Fortune reached out to Cuban for comment via email. 

Mark Cuban’s productive email set-up: AI replies, and no days off

Cuban is an email lover, preferring the line of communication over Slack, texting, and calling. The serial investor told Business Insider it’s his favorite because emails can be searched decades later, as he has messages going back to the 1990s. He began sending out emails in the 1980s on CompuServe—the company that acquired Cuban’s MicroSolutions business for $6 billion—and still has a bunch of those folders with his former employees’ addresses. 

The 66-year-old businessman also sees the communications format as more productive. Handling business dealings, employee communications, and press requests “asynchronously” from all across the country and world. Emailing makes it easier to get things done on his timeline—plus, everyone has it in their back pocket.

“There’s also really no limit to the type or format of the content. I can include it in emails or attach whatever,” Cuban wrote. “Everyone has email. In 2025, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t…It’s fast. Particularly now, with Google’s auto replies.”

But there’s also a method to Cuban’s emailing madness, other than simply checking his inbox and responding to emails repeatedly throughout the day. 

For 10% to 20% of his emails, Cuban said he uses one of Gmail’s recommended responses, saving him some time and brain power. He allows AI to write his autoreplies occasionally, or uses the tool as a “typing hack” to save time in writing long responses, but noted that he’s “typically going to add some flavor somewhere.” 

He also uses folders to keep his inbox organized, as he’s had too many emails over the years. 

While Cuban said that he never wants to hit inbox zero because he purposefully keeps some emails unread as reminders, he aims to keep these to under 20 messages. On occasion, he can get that number down to under 10.

It’s an ambitious goal that requires a constant clean-up of his inbox and means Cuban almost never takes a break from his email—only stepping away for a day or longer during an “extraordinary event,” like attending special events for his family. 

“I have a hard time disconnecting,” Cuban wrote. “It’s faster to just get it out of the way.”

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