How to declutter your inbox
Clutter creates visual and mental chaos, leading to feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety
ABOUT EMAILS
Emails. We expect some with trepidation, we hate some with a vengeance, we are indifferent to many. They keep coming one after another, sometimes in a cluster, taking up space, filling in pages on your computers, phones, filling them with data, the majority of which we don’t need and we will never even open. However they are there.
I don’t know about you but when I see my screen full of emails, I want to run away, hide in a corner and wait for them to disappear. But they don’t. I can say from my own experience that this type of clutter creates visual and mental chaos, making me feel overwhelmed, stressed and anxious. It is time to simplify, to let go and breathe with more ease.
This week I took the decision to bite the bullet, stare at the screen and … take some action. The staring at the screen was not new. The taking action bit was.
6241 EMAILS
First of all I noticed that there were 6241 emails in my personal inbox. OK I took a deep breath in …breath out as I could feel the anxiety raising inside. It’s not a joke - my palms were getting clammy, breathing was rapid … I was hyperventilating. Just because I was facing a screen with loads of emails? Yes.
The truth is dear reader that a bulging inbox is a source of stress, a source of tiredness, internal unrest. One thinks … oh Lord … look at those thousands of emails. How can I get rid of them? How?
Pressing delete is an easy thought but one thinks… what if I will need to read that email about that recipe, or about that yoga session, or that article about AI, or that online magazine or ….
We keep postponing and postponing taking action until we simply cannot anymore.
So well I did take action and guess what!!!!! It was easier than I have every thought! It took me 3 hours, I was left with only 35 emails saved in 5 folders …. done …my inbox is clean and I feel so much better.
So here is what I did:
PRACTICAL ON THE SPOT ACTIONS
Unsubscribed from many promotional emails - I know some will keep coming but I am determined to keep on top of it and keep unsubscribing
Deleted old emails - I have pressed the delete button so many times I had to rest it for an hour after that but it felt good
Created folders and saved emails accordingly
ESTABLISHED NEW HABITS
Declutter the inbox once a week - put it in the diary
Answer to emails and then save in folders
I wonder what are your strategies regarding decluttering your inbox? I am always eager to learn and apply new techniques.
INSPIRATION CORNER
A video about decluttering your email - yes I came across it after I got rid of my emails but I found some interesting ideas there so I am planning to apply them in the future
MUSIC - this is what I had in the background while engaged in the process of decluttering my inbox. It is so important to surround yourself with something you love in terms of sounds when you do something which involves stress and anxiety. I am passionate about qawwali and flamenco and this is a beautiful fusion.
COLOUR BATH - MOOD BATH - Once I finished the decluttering exercise I felt the need to do something creative and asked myself … what colour do I crave - it was yellow so I opened my Canva app and created a mood bath
Until next time, be well!
You give me hope that I can declutter my email!!