A few weeks ago I started working on a simplify email goal. I have five main email addresses for a variety of reasons including our business and my websites (both past and present). It will shortly go down to four when I eliminate one permanently.
I do a good job of keeping my inboxes cleaned out. Some of them are usually empty and receive very little email. If there is more than 15 or so pieces of mail in my main two addresses, I get antsy. So my inboxes aren’t the problem. The problem is emails from completed projects for clients that went back years, saved newsletters from other people, the fact that I had rarely cleaned out my sent emails, and so on.
I didn’t start counting until I had already deleted between 1,000 and 2,000 emails (received, sent, and saved). Since I started tallying them, I’ve deleted an additional 12,103 emails. I haven’t worked on it the past few weeks because I’ve invested almost all of my time on website related things. But I estimate I can probably eliminate another 5,000 – 6,000 when I finish the task.
I have also been ruthlessly unsubscribing from mailing lists for the past few months. I only subscribe to a minimal amount of things compared to most people, but I eliminated some more. It’s amazing how much quieter my inbox is now.
Is there anything you need to do to simplify your email?
I do the same thing… and yes, had at least that many emails saved .. all gone now. It bring me more to the present moment and LIFE IN THE NOW.. I do not get many emails at all from people just websites and deleting those as I go along now. Off we go with a lighter load and more in tune with our Tribe of Support and with God leading us. Thanks for this helpful reminder to keep the inbox clear. I get antsy too if it has too much in it.