Email De-Cluttering & Organizing

Nov 28

Ok… let’s be serious here. How many emails do you get a day outside of your work email??

It’s crazy, right?! Let’s talk about where to start, questions to ask before unsubscribing vs. deleting, and how much time are you really spending deleting emails.

When I left my cushy sales job in New York I was on a mission to simplify my life. I started by selling and donating all my furniture and home goods. I took a real look at my wardrobe and shoe inventory and paired it down substantially.

Now the months before leaving New York to save as much as possible I lived with my dear friend Michelle Baker, in a great junior studio… yup that’s right two ladies, two wardrobes and one studio apartment. We made it work, kept is simple and forced us both to downsize. Even as my bank account was growing I didn’t spend a penny on new items. My eyes were on the prize of traveling for the next 10 months and carrying all I owned in a backpack (and a large suitcase).

Now the final step in this process was looking at my digital clutter because at this point I owned next to nothing.. which was LIBERATING. I looked at the constant stream of emails coming in about the next best sale, the product “I can’t live without”, or the best thing to simplify your life… funny because this digital clutter is doing quite the opposite.

So how did I do it? Well, I did it…I removed all the digital clutter in my life. I’ll be honest it’s going to take some real effort on your part.

Step 1: Unsubscribing to any and all spam and daily emails. We have so many sources to learn about new products. My Instagram and Facebook already know me well and are always pushing marketing of products. Removing them from your email is the one area you can control. So go ahead and take control! I promise if you are supposed to have this product it will find its way to your news feed some way somehow.

Also, as you unsubscribe make sure you read the fine print. A lot of sites will prompt you to click a button which actually puts you back on the list, tricky tricky. Note, this can take up to 30 days to be removed from the subscription so don’t get discouraged along the way.

Step 2: Sorting what’s left over. I have a number of different folders within my mailbox (Travel, personal, Coaching Clients, Organizing Client, Expenses.. ) This way I can eliminate any clutter in my inbox that doesn’t have a task associated with it. I treat my inbox as a to-do list and look to have zero on a daily basis.

Step 3: The one that typically gets forgotten, changing your habits. Going forward when signing up for a new membership or when you buy a new product make sure you aren’t subscribing to their promotional emails (unless these are something you feel are worthy of your time). Creating new habits will make maintaining a zero inbox possible and dare I say it easy.

I hope this is helpful and I’ll be praying for you all to have a zero inbox like myself. It’s a great way to start each day fresh, clutter-free and focused!

[Photo via Wikipedia]

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Email De-Cluttering & Organizing

The most organized thing in your inbox.

let’s work together

let’s connect

Email De-Cluttering & Organizing

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The most organized thing in your inbox.

let’s work together

let’s connect