Email Declutter Laugh Out Loud Moment
Email Declutter Alert!
When one of your Email Inboxes has over 1000 emails it might be time for an “Email Decluttering Session.”
Notice I used the plural for Inbox. I don’t believe anyone has only one email account. They are either lying or under 6 years old.
Timing is everything
For me this means setting my iPhone timer for 12 minutes and deleting away in the winning Inbox of choice.
Otherwise I get time sucked deleting emails all morning. It can be very addicting. I’ve learned a little at a time weekly works better for me.
Dating email
That headline sounds sexy…
Sadly, I have no romantic emails.
My dates only text
The headline, in this instance, means using the email dates as a starting point.
Sometimes I start at the top with most recent messages, sometimes the bottom with oldest date. This morning I began with the latter.
Ruthlessly deleting now irrelevant emails and moving e-receipts to the current mail folder, “Online Receipts 2014”.
Okay, whom I kidding?
There were forgotten 2013 receipts too. Possibly 2012, not sure, evidence deleted now.
Laugh out loud shocker
I’m merrily trashing emails, when suddenly, a slick photo of a shapely pert brunette vixen, in her birthday suit, seems to promise me a hot time with her smoky eyes.
Steamy?
Not so much. She’s not my type.
I am attracted to men.
In person, fully clothed.
That is, until we are seriously dating.
How about you?
Ready to delve into the murky world of your email Inbox(es)? Start your email de-clutter today!
Try this: pick one Inbox, set a goal of how many to clear out. Hang on eager email eraser…no more than 100 to start.
Leave a comment below of any surprising, creepy, shocking, laughable emails you find. Jot down an inspiring before and after Inbox count. Mine: 754 : 654.
ha ha – i won’t even tell you how many emails are in my inbox, jul’s! i’ve been better at deleting since i started fresh with a new laptop a couple of months ago. (but it still seems like a waste of time to me since they pile back up so quickly . . .)
Point well taken, April! My way through that is to “unsubscribe” from email lists that are no longer relevant.
I discovered Boomerang from Gmail that helps me de-clutter my inbox. But even then, I have to spend time every morning to keep my inbox under 50 emails. It works so far 🙂
Thanks for the tip Llyane. Boomerang is new to me, so I shall have to take a peek. Thanks for sharing!
Ha! Love your PLAYFUL approach to decluttering Jul’s! Clutter – both the physical kind in my environment as well as the mental kind – are some of my worst enemies so I try to keep up with this on a regular basis.
However, every once in awhile it does get a little out of hand, so your advice to set a timer before tackling it is great – otherwise it’s too easy to get sucked into the vortex!
P.S.
Totally love the timer approach to social media too…it’s like that world defies all bounds of time, with hours flying by before you know it!
Thank you so much Sabrina! I am all about making things playful, because I like to keep fully engaged no matter what I am doing. So glad you like the timer…it’s funny I used to do that for my kids to help them not get locked in, or learn to stave off procrastination, than I tried it as a game for myself with some tasks I was avoiding, and found it actually kept me focused. We can do something for 12 minutes.
I can so get wrapped up in social media, yet I have clients to nurture, and a business to grow. I think of it as giving quality time not quantity time to my social sphere.
I really appreciate your feedback! For me organizing is my toolbox to connection. Connection to what my clan and I really want to spend time on each day, each thought. De-cluttering the white noise physically and mentally is my map to core connection within myself and all of you. It’s a daily dance; I like to keep it graceful.
Thanks for these great strategies! I have over 6500+!
It is one of the goals we’ve been discussing! Perfect timing for some support.
Great to hear Annette, so glad the timing was perfect for you and your goals. It is baby steps, chipping away at the iceberg that I find most effective for attaining our goals.
Haha! Love this post! Emails are the electronic version of the piles of paper that grow ever larger with every passing day except they are easier to ignore! Great idea for setting a timer and a limit! So easy to get get lost in sifting through old and new emails! Thank you! 🙂
Hi Clare! I love your imagery of virtual paper piles growing as we sleep (my addition) and easier to ignore, so true! And how is it fair, to finally sift through and actually get that pesky Inbox down to 9 emails, and next day it is up to 50…grrr. Maintenance, maintenance…So glad you enjoyed my post and you are more than welcome.
I LOVED this post! ‘Dating Email’… does sound sexy! I need help in this department.Let’s talk sometime!
Happy to help! I have a few simple email strategies for getting that Inbox to an Outbox.
Oh I love love love this post! You have definitely inspired me to make a weekly plan/goal of deleting unwanted and old emails! Haha I have in excess of 15,000 emails. I have had this email account since the 90’s… it was my first one. I do have a couple others, but this is still my main acct. Thank you for this post!
Hi Jamison! Thanks so much for your inspiring comment. You are not the only one! I just got my personal account, which I have been deleting away—slowly, but steadily—from 258 (previously 6000+) to 9! It feels so freeing! So happy my post has motivated you to clear out some email clutter. Keep me updated…love to see the email number go down…You go lass, Jul’s
Thank you Jul’s! Oh wow so you have been there too haha and seen the light! It really does feel burdensome seeing that many old unread emails, I hate it lol. I will definitely let you know how it goes and thank you again! 🙂
Thrilled to hear an update any time, happy deleting or relocating.