Taming the email inbox
I have to admit that I’m a bit of an email packrat. It seems fairly harmless to me, as long as my hard drive is large enough, and somehow having the history of many of my email interactions gives me comfort.
That said, when I switched computers in July 2007, making the thrilling leap from a PC to a Mac, I abandoned the 25,000 email messages (that’s right: 25,000) that were in my inbox on my PC. (They dated back 10 years.) I had probably ten times as many messages filtered into folders.
My system, such as it was, worked for me. But it was liberating to have a fresh email inbox to start with when I bought my MacBook. That was almost nine months ago. Despite having Smart Folders and regular folders in Mac Mail, I have accumulated over 6,000 email messages in my inbox. I think I need to lighten the load.
I read with interest this detailed post on managing email on Lifehacker. The writer, Gina Trapani, credits the originator of this method, Merlin Mann, with coming up with the Inbox Makeover method, which she has modified.
In summary, you create three folders: Follow Up, Archive, and Hold and file everything that would otherwise languish in your inbox into these folders. That way your new email, which lands in the inbox, gets your immediate attention. You have quick access to the items requiring action, and you can enjoy the serenity of an empty inbox every day.
I’m going to give this a shot. I’ll start tomorrow morning, try to keep it up over the weekend, and report back on Monday.
Tagged with: decluttering, email
Comments
The important thing is to do what works for you! I have multiple folders and rules for email lists and so forth. I’m getting used to my Archive, Hold and Follow Up folders. Still loving the empty in box!
Janine Adams April 27, 2008 02:41 PM
About Janine
Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.
I love order, harmony + beauty, but I believe that the way that you feel about yourself and your home is what truly matters.
If you’re ready to declutter with a purpose and add more ease to your life, you’ve found the right blog — and you’ve found the right company.
read more »Links
- Shannon Wilkinson, life coach
- Institute for Challenging Disorganization
- Metropolitan Organizing
- Ravelry
- NAPO St. Louis
- National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals
- Getting to Good Enough podcast
- Organize Your Family History
- Are you interested in becoming a professional organizer?
I didn’t have the guts to dump all old messages into one archive folder, so I use folders labeled “Reply” “Action” “New Contacts” and then one folder for each project I work on. This system leads to a long list of folders, but I’ve found it really handy to keep all project-related emails in one spot.
Nora Brown April 23, 2008 07:05 AM