declutter your inbox
winter blooms at my local florist
Living a less-distracted life : de-cluttering my inbox.
I’m so passionate about de-cluttering my physical space but when it comes to the virtual I’m just plain slack. I’m embarrassed to admit that last week my inbox was bulging with 20,000+ emails. There’s a few reasons why:
- I never deleted unwanted emails
- I read emails on my phone and promptly forgot to reply, hence they just sat there
- I didn’t have an allocated “email” time and therefore dealing with the 50+ emails a day was never a priority
I’m treating my inbox like a cupboard that’s too jammed-packed with “stuff” that I can’t even close it. I’m deleting and sorting and making good intentions to stay on top of it all by doing the following:
- I’m allocating two times a day to check emails, ultimately limiting the distraction of an email here, an email there
- I read the email, reply and then file/delete
- if I don’t have time to reply, I mark the email as “unread”
- I’ve unsubscribed from all companies who send too many emails (once a month is acceptable, three a week is not)
So: de-clutter your virtual letterbox, it’s somewhat satisfying.
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I spent one hour and a half today with Dave 'The Apple Tamer' that is his real business name – is it not brilliant? This was my first session with Dave to 'tidy up' my whole computer. Dave used the word 'ritual' in the same sentence as 'clearing inbox', in doing so he made it sound almost appealing. Every Sunday Dave clears his inbox ready for the next week. Computers are a bit like cars, they appreciate a service and a little TLC from time to time. The car I service regularly, the computer no. Until today. Dave deleted software I never use, updgraded software I use all the time, cleared my desktop and by the time I left I felt cleansed. Now all I have to do is go through my downloads and photos. Good luck! x
I like the sound of Dave!
I've been doing exactly the same! It feels good.
Needed to read that. Deleting as we speak.. As I type. You know what I mean. x
I've unsubscribed from nearly everything but I do need to get to the deleting and filing so my inbox doesn't scare me any more
And then the photos….
I'm the complete opposite to you, Jodi. I'm ruthless with emails but find it hard to keep the clutter at bay. Must try harder!
So THAT'S why you didn't reply to my email! 😀 I need to follow your example, but I especially need to do the above with my husband's inbox. He's a photographer and I take care of his correspondence/bookings. It's like working in a junkyard!
I have to say I am slightly anal about my inbox! The only things in there are what needs me to sit and consider before responding. I delete all that can be as I go and I have a detailed and well used filing system. My inbox is regularly empty which feels fantastic. My car on the other hand… that is my clutter weakness!
i so need to do this…and deal with my photo files which are beyond ridiculously full. but imagine if they got wiped??? definitely a job for july and a promise to stay on top of it forever! lovely new feature jodi 🙂
WOW … this completely resonates with me! Its almost like you spoke for me (except I have 4,000 unread emails:) My husband and friends always have a laugh when they see my email page come up on the screen.
You have inspired me, not just to declutter my email, but to set goals in the virtual world…I need to sort/cull and work out a good workflow with my canon, I take huge amounts of photos of my boys and hardly get round to sorting/culling and dealing with the photos, let alone ever printing a photo! oh…How I sometimes wish for the olden days.
x
I too busy myself decluttering our living space while my inbox gets neglected. I thought my inbox of 3000 emails was bad 🙂 I too have a bad habit of not replying straight away and not deleting anything. Back when we got a new computer, a friend transferred everything over from our old one and seeing our inbox she was like "sometimes it's good just to start fresh". However, I couldn't just delete those emails and I still have 'go through our inbox' on my long-awaited to do list 🙂 You've inspired me to get onto this task! x
Sometimes, email stress me out – but I´m improving in that area. 🙂
http://tinajoathome.com/
My inbox is also out of control. I am so guilty of reading an email on my phone and then forgetting about it…this used to be a really bad habit when I was up in the middle of the night breastfeeding. I have gotten on top of my more recent emails but I still have tens of thousands in my inbox that are from before my resolution. It does bother me that they are there but there isn't much I can do…save devote an entire week to emails!
I do organise and delete photos once a month and that is always a fun day…I like looking back and seeing what we have done!
I have to be on top of my emails otherwise it drives me nuts. I file everything as it comes in but also have a "Follow Up" folder that I deal with within a week of receiving it. I have also unsubscribed from a pile of newsletters and notifications which has made a huge difference. x
I've stopped carrying my phone with me. I leave it in the car or at home and I find it helps break the cycle of checking email, and it helps remove the burden of nagging work-related email (esp. now, as I am on holidays).
I never delete… so guilty! My inbox needs a good de-clutter, too.
I am the biggest deleter … read it, then file it or delete it. (Love deleting.) Shane's inbox is like yours and it makes me feel sick just looking at the number of emails! Kellie xx
PS The email reading on the phone is a bit of a problem, isn't it.
I agree with the newsletter thing, once a month is plenty. Ilove deleting emails, I find it very satisfying.
May I ask what camera do you use? Your pictures are absolutely fan-tas-tic! 🙂
I shoot with a Panasonic GF1 and a 20mm 1.7 lens x
I'm trying to adopt the 2 days per day email check. Today wasn't my best attempt at it. But it has highlighted the number of times I actually check my email to distract myself. Patience with myself is needed. x
I am totally guilty of checking emails on my phone and not deleting them from my account. Thinking of this virtual space as an actual room in the home is such a good idea, and has given me the kick start I needed to de-clutter my account – and head.
Thanks for the tip Jodi x
http://www.wildandgrizzly.blogspot.co.uk
Beautiful Jodi,
After reading this I turned on my 'out of office reply'. I had it on last year and the time has come to turn it back on. I'm also not having my emails set to my phone.
Thank you for the reminder. Xx
In my photography group someone once posted the 'touch it once' rule. If you read something or plan on doing something – then do it in that one time. Dion't look at it and say "I'll come back to it" or "I'll finish it later". A bit difficult with little ones of course, and exacerbated by working from home, but the principle is still a good one to keep in mind and follow if possible. 🙂
May I ask where this florist is? I'm on the Central Coast as well (Terrigal) and for the life of me, I cant find a decent florist!
Oh yes, this is a big one for me. I catch what's important and leave the rest for later. Yeah, later, man will I be in trouble when later gets here.