Yes, but you still then live with the idea that there could be an email you should read at any moment. I admire the self-discipline of those who can resist the urge to check, but I have never been able to.
For me, simply using Trello and Slack has obliterated all need for email with collaborators.
Excellent point. One thing that I'm noticing is that other tools are becoming just as busy as Email for me. At times I feel like there isn't a difference. The volume of email is what bothers me. But now if that volume is being transferred to Slack (sorry to point them out) I'm still stuck with the same problem. It's the people behind the tools which cause the problem IMHO :)
If something is truly important people will find a way to contact you through the phone, IM, etc. Constantly checking and responding to email is a vicious cycle that will lead people to expect you can be interrupted any time.
For me, simply using Trello and Slack has obliterated all need for email with collaborators.