Arghhh – Email!
March 21, 2008 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
Don’t get me wrong. I love email! When it’s from real people, like clients, potential clients, family, and friends, it’s great. I even have a pretty good system for keeping on top of it… pretty good.
Recently it’s fallen almost completely apart. Why? Because I haven’t done the sorting, deleting, etc. I need to do to keep it more or less organized. And why haven’t I done that? Well, it takes a few minutes each day and frankly, it’s boring! I mean where’s the fun in moving this email into that folder, or deleting all those unread newsletters? And then there are the legitimate offers – yes, there are some, and I get a few. Chances are, because I’m so far behind, I’ll just delete those I’ve saved on the theory if I really need them, they will surface again. Sigh.
Not so by-the-way, Jennifer over at MyOrganizedBiz.com has several good posts on handling email. I’m starting with Stop spam and unwanted mail in 360 seconds right now, then I’m taking the rest of the day off!
Write well and often,
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Thanks for the mention, Anne!
On that post, I shared how each step works (I completed them all myself) and since, I have seen a drastic reduction in the amount of spam and paper solicitations I receive.
Just means there’s less to deal with in the long run – and who doesn’t need that?
how true! thanks for the help
I’ve decided I love gmail accounts for email. No sorting, no folders. Everything gets archived. Nothing deleted. When I need something, I use the search function. It did take some getting used to, but I love it now.
Disclaimer: Traditional organization isn’t one of my strengths. ;-)
Okay Anne, your blog on e-mail made me do it … I just spent 30 minutes cleaning up my e-mail.
Yep, it’s been needin’ it for a long while now.
I had 6 pages of e-mails to clean up. I even cleaned up and deleted folders and e-mails in hotmail account. Got rid of the old client’s folders, moved savable e-mails to my Writing Business folder, in case I need to get a sample of what I did, etc. I do feel better, less clutter on my working desk even if it was my web desk.
Thanks for the push.
you’re welcome.
The important thing, I think, is to have a system.
I use Apple mail and send all of my email – even gmail – into folders. It’s not a perfect system but it helps me prioritize.
What I’ve noticed is that folks who ignore email are the ones who are the most overwhelmed. I think you need to plow through it on a basis that is comfortable to you so that it doesn’t pile up – just like regular mail. If you sort through your regular mail every day, you can quickly throw out the junk. If you let it pile up on the table, it’s much more daunting. Why is email different?
Agreed, Kelly. :) Systems are a good thing.
That’s why I like what Amy said about using gmail (I’m a huge fan). That’s a workable system, too, even when it doesn’t require sorting.
I may have to change everything I’m doing… well, about email anyway… but not today ;)