Mike Licht via Compfight
What Is Your Email Inbox Saying About You? And How Can You Change The Conversation?
Imagine you jump on your computer and open your email inbox. There you find 63 to 1,063 emails!
About 45 (or 450?) are waiting to be read by you. Lurking in the background, another 25 are read, but waiting for action.
Around the corner you find the “I really should read this article or watch this You Tube video someday” emails.
Most energy-zapping are the “This is too long and complicated – what the heck is she saying? – I don’t have time for this but better hold on to it in case I need it for some reason” emails.
Each time we click the button and open our inbox, we may be looking at a microcosm of our lives.
It’s all there. The to-do list. The unfinished projects. The wish lists. The people we care about.
The commitments we have made. Places we are stuck. Requests for time and money we don’t have to spend and clutter we would love to eliminate.
So what is your email inbox saying about you and your life?
Do you love the conversation? Is it supporting you or cluttering your life?
At times, our email inboxes can nag us like a mild toothache that’s not painful enough to send us to the dentist, but operating as a dull ache reminding us that there is too much to do and never enough time.
If you can imagine the joy of an email inbox that is reduced to 10 or fewer emails each day, you are ready to change the conversation your email is having about your life!
Coach Me Quick Tips for Making Your Email Box Work For YOU!
1. You’ve Been Spammed:
We all have. Make it a habit to delete your spam mail each day. Occasionally an email that you want to read will sneak through to that spam folder. By checking and deleting each day, you will eliminate the “oh I guess it ended up in my spam folder” conversation AND you won’t have something sitting on your computer with hundreds (or more?) of emails in it.
2. Sorry, Not Enough Bandwidth:
Good bye to those emails that you should read some day. Articles, You Tube videos, Photo collections of kittens and landscapes AND the occasional request to “forward this email to 10 friends within 24 hours to gain happiness, health and prosperity. There’s nothing that feels better than an empty email inbox. Let’s forge ahead!
3. Send a Speedy Reply:
If you can answer or take action the first time you read an email, take the time to do it and then delete or file the email. Phew!
4. Let Go of Attachments:
Take the time to take your name off of lists that send you emails you didn’t ask for! Unless you find the emails fun, interesting or packed with useful information, you probably don’t need their constant marketing.
5. Google It:
If you can Google it later, delete it now.
6. If You Just Can’t Bounce It:
Make a folder for emails that require attention and action later and make a note to check that folder weekly.
7. Refresh!
Make a commitment to keep your emails to a number of your choosing – something that makes you feel that you have some freedom or space in your life each day as you open your computer.
Clicking, filing and trashing in L.A.,
Jamee
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