Your Inbox Isn’t a To-Do List: Pause Before You Click

Introduction

When you clock into work, what’s the first thing that you do? Besides grabbing a cup of coffee, many of us start the day by clearing out our inboxes.

Answering emails promptly is essential, but we shouldn’t rush through our inbox to clear out new messages either. When we rush through it or reply and delete by rote, we become even more vulnerable to threat actors.

Phishing, MFA-prompt fatigue, and fake “urgent” alerts all rely on one thing: Getting you to act before you think. How can you keep the flow of your daily routine going while avoiding scams that depend on your pile of constant notifications?

How Do These Scams Slip Through the Cracks?

Cybercriminals craft messages that feel like they’re part of your routine. When you’re juggling tasks, it’s easy to skim these familiar-looking messages and obey without thinking.

That might look like…

• “Please review this invoice.”

• “Your password will expire soon.”

• “Approve this login request?”

• “Your package is delayed. Please update your information.”

Unfortunately, this simple but effective scam is exactly how phishing, smishing, and MFA-bombing slip through even at large-scale, well-protected organizations.

Does Stopping to Pause Really Work?

Although it can feel like an unnecessary pause in your workday, taking time to assess your inbox will help you regain control against phishing attempts.

When a message feels urgent, surprising, or slightly “off,” a two-second pause interrupts reactive clicking and gives your brain a chance to evaluate. You can ask yourself:

• Does this request make sense?

• Is the email address correct?

• Did I expect this file or link?

• Is this MFA prompt actually from me?

• Could I verify this another way?

That tiny moment of intention is one of the strongest defenses you have!

Building Awareness Into an Everyday Habit

Remember that notifications are a signal, not an assignment. Permit yourself to slow down. Attackers weaponize urgency, but you don’t have to.

Whenever you receive an unexpected message, verify the sender and the message's authenticity. A quick message via a secondary, trusted channel can be the one move that prevents a significant breach.

If you receive unexpected MFA requests, do not approve them. Unless you initiated the login, these MFA alerts are meant to fatigue your attention until you approve just one login to stop the notifications. Threat actors only need one MFA approval to access your account.

When in doubt, report or verify with the appropriate people via end-to-end encrypted channels. You’re not bothering your coworkers; you’re taking a simple step to prevent massive data breaches.

Conclusion

Too many of us treat our inbox like a conveyor belt: Emails come in, and we respond, delete, approve, or forward. We play that on repeat until our inbox is cleared. Unfortunately, that automatic behavior is precisely what phishers rely on.

Your inbox may be busy, your notifications constant, and your workday fast — but making it instinctive for you to pause and reassess turns those challenges into opportunities for safer online decisions.

In a world of nonstop messages and permanently full inboxes, the most powerful security skill isn’t technical. It’s learning to pause.