Are You Ripping Your Hair Out Because of Your Inbox?

Wow!  The complaints seem to be coming from all sides: "My inbox is stressing me to the max and I'm going to delete everything in it!" I sure do hear this a lot from everyone I talk with and you probably do, too. Has it gotten to the point where you want to take anything with an Inbox out to the driveway and run over it?  Then it's time to act, right?
 
The toll that all media takes on our brains, patience and sanity is unbelievable.  Research shows that most are exposed to an average of almost TEN hours of media distraction each and every day.  Yikes! So, when are you supposed to find the peace, serenity and ability to focus amid all that clamor?!  Have you noticed that your friends and acquaintances can't even have a casual lunch or dinner without having this 'other thing' attending the function also - that ever-present phone or tablet? UGH! Most likely why Jim and I fight the whole 'smart phone/24-hour availability' thing so much!  But, I digress - something that happens a lot these days as interruptions abound, right?
 
So, let's chat a bit about how to get that Inbox of yours under control, OK? A few bulleted items for you to work on, piece-meal, as you get the chance to return to being the boss of your electronics....

1. Most folks think they need to respond to an email message in about 6 seconds of its receipt! (That wouldn't be you, now, would it?) Only check it several times a day, at a set time, and NOT first thing each morning!  If you do that, you're working on everyone else's To-Do List before you can even get to your own, right?  Handle your priorities first thing of the day and then you're headed for that wonderful feeling of accomplishment as the day winds down.
2. When you do decide to work on your email, handle as much as you can at that one time: reply succinctly, getting to the point ASAP; trash what you can; junk what you don't want; file what you need to attend to in the future (I have an "Upcoming Events" file where all that sort of thing sits until it's over).
3. Pretty wonderful to just unsubscribe what you don't want to read or attend to.  Hold back from joining that store's email blast just to get the 10% or $3 off for doing so - or unsubscribe once you get the benefit of the coupon. It takes a few more seconds than just clicking 'junk,' but then it will be not be cropping up each day.
4. Cancel subscriptions to blogs or online news sources that you don't even read which might even be costing you money, and thus guilt! Banish the thought!
5. Use the filters that your email system has available so that reading items can be moved to one file automatically; certain autopay notices are sent to that vendor's file; emails from certain parties are file way down the line OR, if it's your boss, up front and center! You can also color-code and flag the incoming for yet more visibility for your multi-tasking self! (Try to banish that along with guilt, OK?)
6. Lots of times you don't even need to reply.  Some emails are just sent for 'informational/in-the-loop' purposes and a reply isn't required. Read and delete/file, as appropriate.
7. Just as with paper coming into your homes, be cautious about what you allow into your inbox. The newest thing is receipts being emailed to you. UGH! Don't give your email out willy-nilly any more than you would give out your phone number or Social Security number - think about it! I find I can almost always receive the paper copy I want at the vendor during the transaction, and then I don't have an inbox item I need to deal with, print for business proof or what-have-you.
8. If you don't want to receive chain emails, forwards and jokes, practice the Golden Rule and don't send them on!
9. If all else fails, if you have literally thousands of emails sitting in your Inbox and never clean house, sometimes it's pertinent and good for your sanity to just feign a computer melt-down and 'delete all!' After all, if an item has been sitting in there for months, is it really important anymore? Maybe someone will actually telephone you for a lunch date if you have 'failed to reply' once too often. After all, aren't we all just forgetting about 'personal interaction' too often these days?  (Another pet peeve of mine....)

I sincerely hope you have gleaned an idea or two about setting limits on the Inbox monstrosity so that you, once again, are in control.  How else can you hope to find the peace and serenity you're striving for?
 
Here's to simplicity and success in setting up filters in each and every aspect of your life so you do feel more in control!

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