{"id":1313,"date":"2014-04-09T09:30:13","date_gmt":"2014-04-09T13:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yourvamentor.com\/blog\/?p=1313"},"modified":"2023-03-07T14:44:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T19:44:30","slug":"taming-the-email-monster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yourvamentor.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/taming-the-email-monster\/","title":{"rendered":"Taming the Email Monster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year I switched my email from Outlook Express (that downloaded onto my computer) to webmail.<\/p>\n

I had started to travel more and it made sense for me to have access to my stuff anywhere I was.<\/p>\n

But one problem occurred – I found that I didn’t keep a handle on how much email was actually in my inbox, simply because it wasn’t taking up space on my computer anymore.<\/p>\n

I used to delete mass amounts of email at the end of every month when I used Outlook Express.<\/p>\n

Well, occasionally I still do that with my webmail, but not often enough. I find it frustrating to search through my email to find stuff I need when there is just so much of it.<\/p>\n

I use folders and filters and all that stuff, but I still just don’t find it as systematized as my old method.<\/p>\n

So last week I took control back. I bought a book called The 15 Minute Inbox<\/a>, by Joost Wouters, and I put it into practice.<\/p>\n

It helps you clear masses of emails from your inbox quickly and easily, and I did just that.<\/p>\n

Basically, you move everything from your inbox into a ‘holding’ folder so that you can sort it. This immediately empties your inbox (which looks awesome!).<\/p>\n

Then you take various steps to clear out the ‘holding’ folder of emails – this can include deleting email that you won’t read or don’t need, and filing things that you have places for, and even unsubscribing to lists that you just don’t read.<\/p>\n

I did this and it is very liberating!<\/p>\n

Then you need to make a promise to yourself to manage all of the NEW stuff that comes into your inbox in a regular day. Since you started at zero, it is easy to maintain it.<\/p>\n

The idea is that you check it, and you act on it right away. I do this once a day now (sometimes twice) and I feel so much lighter when I sit down to check my email now. I know I’m handling everything that comes through my inbox, and I know I’m clearing the stuff that is not necessary.<\/p>\n

How do you manage your inbox? Would love to hear it. Check out that book if you want too. It has helped me with a huge timesucker, and I think it could help you too!<\/p>\n

Photo Credit<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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