Mastering the Inbox

Have you had one of those days when your email is never empty? I find it happens too often. It has taken time but I finally came up with a solution. I force myself to deal with each new email; read, file, redirect or delete. If I find more than fifty new emails and feel overwhelmed, I will open email on my computer instead of my iPad. I stopped automatically fetching email on my iPad which only caused stress because I couldn't immediately address a new email. Most are promotion pieces anyway and do not require immediate attention. 

In summary:

1. Manually fetch email when you can deal with it. 
2. Create a timetable that works for you.
3. Deal with every new email; read, file, redirect or delete.
4. When you have too many new emails and feel overwhelmed, take a breath and deal with one at a time. 
5. Set aside at least one day every week to entirely clear your unread email. I like starting Monday fresh and will often use the weekend to address each piece.
6. Unsubscribe from unwanted email. Keep only subscriptions that have value for you.

I hope these suggestions help. If you have tricks that work for you, please share in the comment section. 

It feels good to have email under control.
Calming, like the bottom image in this collage.