My Email Inbox Is Overwhelming
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I get a ridiculous amount of mail to my personal email account everyday. It’s not that I’m that popular — I just like to sign up for newsletters, deals, advertisements, alerts, etc. I think I need to scale back because it’s getting a little much to handle.
Every morning — I sort through no less than 10-15 emails that I’ve gotten early in the morning or the night before while I slept. I delete most of them without ever opening them. These are the coupon codes and “secret” sales for online and brick and mortar stores. I feel like I should keep subscribing to these because you “never know” when you might want a coupon. But really — it’s just crowding up my email box and slowing me down.
Starting today — instead of deleting these emails as soon as I see them — I’m going to take the extra time today to open each one. I’ll do it from my desktop so I can really figure out if I need to get these on a daily basis. If I don’t — I will unsubscribe. What a dirty little word! But I’m going to do it!
There’s just too much to sort through on one given day that figuring out what’s most important will help me to be more productive overall. I won’t have to delete so many emails and waste time when more pressing mail awaits.
If you’re overwhelmed — you should do the same. It will be liberating! Let me know how it feels.
Still feeling overwhelmed? Check out my course Take Back Your Inbox, which I created to help you get control over your emails!
LOL – This was an email that I saved to read later, and I am just getting around to it. I hate to admit that most of what I get (what would be considered junk mail), I must delete because there is just not enough time to read it all. I will be doing some weeding and thinning too, just because I don’t have a choice. I think when an inbox starts to be something that you dread opening, it’s time to do something about it. My goal is to make sure that the things to which I have subscribed get my attention first, and if there is time for anything else then so be it. Some great comments and tips above. Thank you!
Hey Shannon! Thanks for your comment! Glad you got to this email :). I try to make it a priority to rethink all the newsletters and emails I’m subscribed to every few months.
I find it so hard to unsubscribe to emails in my inbox! I get that “oh, I might need a special offer from them someday” feeling. But, I’m going to take your advice and get unsubscribin’!
I know what you mean! I’m the same way but it’s really less stressful when you just take the time to get rid of the stuff you don’t really use or need. Good luck!
I actually did that several months ago and it’s VERY freeing – although I do still have a bunch of stuff to sort through every morning….
Hi Bess. – thanks for your comment! I agree – you need to do an inbox cleanse every few months! So helpful!
I have separate email address that I use. I do create folders for information that I want to refer back too. You are at times it can be overwhelming!!
Sheila – Smart thinking! Thanks for reading and sharing!
I use a similar principle to cleaning out a closet: I move e-mails that are unimportant but I want to keep to a separate folder and then read them. Any e-mails I act on I flag, but I keep all of them. After a couple of months I go back into the account and unsubscribe from any newsletter or store I did not flag in that time period. I figure if they didn’t have anything for me to act on in 3-4 months, how likely is it I’ll do so in a longer period of time?
Hi Jenn — very true! I’m going to do the exact same thing. I always think “what if I need this” but it’s like a dress that I haven’t worn in 6 months…I probably won’t need it!
I keep a separate email address for stores, coupon codes, travel sites, etc. I also have a separate credit card strickly for on-line purchases.
Hi Shirley — What a great idea — I might have to do that …I’m getting too swamped with emails!
I read Shirley’s comment and had to reply. Not only is her idea a brilliant way to create a mini-library or “list” of email addresses with different topics, it is a safe one as well. As a forensic psychologist who has researched cyber crime and cyber stalking for the last two years, one of the Internet safety tips I always recommend to online users is to use multiple email addresses for different purposes. In addition to having multiple email addresses, I recommend to never, never, never open attachments in emails unless you are 100% sure what you are opening. Want a nasty virus? Open unknown email attachments. Thanx Shirley.
Hi Doc – thanks for your comment! It’s definitely a good tip!