Wading through Email like a Boss
Minimalism is a way of life for the body, in that we physically choose to remove objects from our lives to live a better, more functional one. But it's also a way of life for the mind.
What I mean is this: the clutter outside the body creates clutter inside the mind. It stresses us out. What we see around us can affect the calm or chaos of the mind. Extra "stuff" can be the decidedly contrasting difference between having an environment of calm and an environment of unrest.
Even clutter of the more invisible kind, like email, can stack up in our mailbox mind, just like a real mailbox full of letters, bills, advertisements, and junk mail.
Are you the kind of person who has an email subscription to everything? Do you get emails every hour, if not every minute, with advertisements? Do you have an inbox filled to overflowing with that little number of how many emails you haven't read, blaring at you?
I firmly believe there are two types of people in this world: those who go through their email as they get it and those who go through their email when time opens up for them (which doesn't happen) to filter through the wave of electronic salutations.
I have family who fast-tracks their email like they're taking out an assassin with each one. (I would be a part of this category.) And I have family who let their unread emails in their inbox reach into the thousands. I've heard of other people who have gotten their unopened emails in the tens of thousands or more.
If you're of the latter approach, well, I'm happy to say there's help for you. Now, there's nothing wrong with procrastinating at times. We can't get to all the emails, all the time, as soon as they come in. The more responsibility we have, the more email we get. It's a symbiotic relationship, unfortunately. But there are ways to fix this mess. On the whole, if you can't spend five minutes at a time a couple of times a day to clear out your inbox, something is off.
That little number outside your mailbox app - into the hundreds or thousands - isn't a badge of honor. It's a tell-tale sign that something is amiss.
Letting your inbox get into the thousands is a little bit like hoarding. You have to take the trash out, make sure the inconsequential is deleted, and get the unnecessary obliterated. To get back to the simple life you once knew, you have to learn to say no to chaos and say yes to peace. If you can get your email in order, I can guarantee this will lead to a more organized, simplified home life. They work together.
Remember, an organized mind equals an organized physical life.
Here's how to deal with email right now to declutter your mind, which will open up time to declutter your home and work life.
1. Unsubscribing is your friend: Seriously. It was all fun and games subscribing to your favorite clothing stores until they started attacking you with daily emails. Forget about the emails to stay on top of trends (as a minimalist, trendy shouldn't be in your vocabulary anyway). Start with a few companies a day, and get super handy at pushing the unsubscribe button! If you do this daily for a couple of weeks, your inbox will be less full. I promise you. I've done this, it works, and it feels so good to have a tidy inbox.
2. Stop subscribing: So you need to unsubscribe from that pet supply store, that hardware giant, as well as your favorite treat shop that creates these ridiculously delicious cookies. But you also need to stop subscribing to these places in the first place. You don't need an account to every restaurant you eat at. You don't need sales updates to your favorite clothing shop. (Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you need it - that's a phrase you should add to your vocabulary.) Say no to giving your email address when a cashier asks for it. Stop subscribing!
3. Look, decide, follow up: If you've got thousands of emails to weed through, start small. Take 25 emails a day, or a page a day, and begin to delete or unsubscribe, or file each one. Victory in the email race is always gained through the small steps, not the finish line. Only you know what you should keep or delete. Another way to combat the email is to combine all of your email addresses - meaning, put a forward on all your email addresses to only one. When you only have to go to one place to retrieve your email, you've already mentally gained time and emotional energy to filter through your daily mail.
I remember a few years ago, I was working three jobs, and along with my two private emails, I had something like five different email accounts. The flood of emails was insane, and trying to navigate through all of them separately was like herding cats. Impossible. So, I set up the email to go to one box. It made a huge difference. Less is more.
Look at the email, decide if you need to respond or it can be deleted, and then come back around to the saved emails after going through 25 (or a page) at a time. A page of deleted inbox messages a day is 365 pages deleted in a year (assuming you're deleting new ones coming in, too). That's about 9,000 emails a year! Imagine if you did two pages a day.
A clean and orderly inbox says you're organized, in charge of your life, and moving forward with each new email, making a concerted decision on what you want to do with it.
Enough is enough. How about you? Ready to clear some mental piles of trash and garbage in your mind? Start with your inbox and watch your world instantly feel orderly, clean, and simple, all with the click of a button.