Peace of Mind Organizing

Regaining control of my office

18 December 2014

I strive every day to whittle my email inbox down to zero. It’s a strategy that has worked well for me for going on four years.

But a series of events has led me to allow messages pile up in my inbox for the last two weeks. (Two weeks ago, I broke my wrist, worked an intensive three-day move-in job for a client, and then headed straight to the airport to spend eight days with my elderly parents.)

So now, despite having spent some time with it in the 48 hours since I’ve been home, I have 68 messages in my inbox. It feels so oppressive.

Those same events resulted in a messy (physical) desk top, which is adding to my stress.

I have no client appointments tomorrow, so what I know I need to do is implement the third part of my evening routine and sit down and plan the top four things I need to get done tomorrow. If I don’t manage to clear off my desk tonight, then a clean desk will be at the top of that list. I’m going to set a timer and see what I can do about my inbox before I turn out my office light today. And come hell or high water, I’ll get my inbox down to zero tomorrow.

This is what I tell clients who backslide: It’s always easier to get back on the horse than it was to get on it the first time. My desk looks like I’ve had a major set back, but I know in less than an hour, particularly if I work on it while I’m fresh, I’ll get it back under control. And I’ll gain some peace of mind while I’m at it. Same goes for my inbox. I can’t wait to achieve my beloved inbox zero again!

I feel very fortunate to have experienced great habits, even when I let them slide. Tomorrow, I’ll post about my success. (Thank you for providing me with accountability!)

It’s now tomorrow at 5:30 pm, and I’m happy to report that I got my inbox down to zero! It feels good. Doing that required me to make some decisions and take some actions that were lingering too long. I also cleared off my desk, but I see that it’s a mess again! But I’ll clear it off before I leave my office tonight.

Tagged with: clean desk, email, habits, routines

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