How to Read (and Learn From) Every Email Newsletter You Subscribe to
I love email newsletters – especially those that curate and share interesting articles.
Unfortunately, newsletters can clutter your email inbox and go unread. This is especially true if you subscribe to many newsletters (like me). Thankfully, I have a process.
This is how you can read and learn from every email newsletter you receive.
Set Up a Sub–Folder
Set up a subfolder in your email program, under your inbox, called EMAIL NEWSLETTERS.
File Email Newsletters Immediately
When an email newsletter arrives, drag it to the new subfolder.
If you process emails on a mobile device, you should be able to set up a specific swipe gesture to do this with one touch. For example, I use Spark for email on my iPhone, and a long, slow swipe to the left sends an email to my EMAIL NEWSLETTERS subfolder.
It is possible to remove this step with automation (you could set up a rule that sends all email newsletters to your subfolder). However, I prefer to create a small amount of friction – it gives me a few seconds to think about whether the email is worth the effort of swiping (if it is not, I unsubscribe).
Read Weekly
Next, decide on a time every week when you will read all your email newsletters and add the time to your calendar as a recurring event.
I read email newsletters (and recommended articles) every Sunday on my iPad as part of my Weekly Review.
Highlight and Annotate
If, like me, you mainly read curated email newsletters that recommend articles, videos, and other forms of content, you need a read–it–later app.
I send all the articles I want to read to Readwise Reader. Any highlights and annotations I make sync to Tana (my notes app). These highlights go to my INBOX folder in Obsidian, so I know I need to process them.
Highlights and annotations in Obsidian become atomic notes that inspire future articles I write. This is an example of the Generation Effect.
Use Spaced Repetition and Active Recall
This is an optional step, but if you want to remember what you've read, Readwise has a Mastery function based on spaced repetition and active recall.
Share
Sharing what you read and learn is another optional step.
I add noteworthy articles to a specific page in Obsidian to share in my curated weekly newsletter. You might share via social media and generate discussion around your learning topics.
Unsubscribe
Finally, don't be afraid to unsubscribe to newsletters you no longer look forward to reading. While the newsletter author likely puts a lot of effort into creating it, they won't know you've unsubscribed.
Tools
Here are links to the tools I use in my workflow:
Spark (email)
Tana (notes app)
Readwise Reader (read–it–later app)
