I am pretty relaxed about some things in my life...
...and then there are some things that I'm just over-the-top uptight about!
For example, I am pretty OCD about trying to keep my e-mail inbox "cleaned out."
For me, a "cleaned out" e-mail inbox should have like 5-10 e-mails max. It should only have e-mails that are about unresolved issues or current ongoing conversations.
*NOTE: this doesn't mean that it happens all the time, it's just what I tryyy to do.
Annnnd I've been majorly slacking/busy and I've accumulated WAY too many e-mails that I want to sort through.
As a result I am....
For me, a "cleaned out" e-mail inbox should have like 5-10 e-mails max. It should only have e-mails that are about unresolved issues or current ongoing conversations.
*NOTE: this doesn't mean that it happens all the time, it's just what I tryyy to do.
Annnnd I've been majorly slacking/busy and I've accumulated WAY too many e-mails that I want to sort through.
As a result I am....
- missing events that my friends tell me about,
- feeling like a bad friend/relative
- forgetting to get back to people about running dates, and
- just feeling an overall sense of being really darn unorganized.
The part that bothers me is that I feel like I'm letting people down by not getting back to them about stuff.
I've just been so busy....but enough excuses.
Enough about my dumb problem, there are so many worse things going on in the world.
 |
| I've been too busy running + stuffing my face to keep up with my inbox... (BTW Apparently a "large plate" menu item refers to the plate size, not the food portions.) |
Time to get cleanin'.
I like to try keep my inbox at 10 e-mails max and then file everything else away into folders as they're taken care of...otherwise I lose track and forget things. BUT in reality, this is difficult to keep up with! I really need to practice the "touch it once" method!!
LOL - You would flip out if you so my email box then....I regularly build up to THOUSANDS of unread emails. Once in a great while, I then go through a massive purge. I did one recently and it always does make me feel better. I just can't seem to keep the dang thing cleaned out, though. :/
ReplyDeleteUgh my inbox is a mess! I have no tips. But I do use "folders". And I put alarm reminder on super important emails. Then I also put in on my calendar if its super super important.
ReplyDeleteI have 12,00 emails in my work account right now! I never delete them, even when they're resolved, and it's TERRIBLE! I try to go through and purge everything but I accumulate them too fast to keep up!
ReplyDeleteI am the same way about emails! I keep it down to an absolute minimum. I hate having all that clutter--it makes me nuts! Same with text messages. I used to be able to delete all unwanted emails right off my phone as soon as I received them, but now with my new phone, it only deletes them off the phone and not my email account. grrr.. so now I have to deleted them TWICE! #firstworldproblems
ReplyDeleteOMG I feel the same way but my inbox has exploded lately since I've been traveling for work and swamped with other stuff. I totally feel anxious when my inbox number creeps up!! I use a system similar to yours. Definitely if I can respond immediately or it's something that I can do in less than 2 minutes, I do it right away. Once it's done - DELETE!!
ReplyDeletemy email inbox is a disaster, you would be appalled! but my solution was to create a new address where i could start from scratch and have everything organized from day 1, which has worked so far but probably sounds a bit crazy. so now i have 2 email addresses, 1 that is super organized and 1 that has 200+ unread messages. it scares me so i don't like to open it.
ReplyDeleteOh you'd go crazy. I'm pretty sure I have about 8,000 emails in my inbox. But by using Gmail I can sort through things and I keep them unread if I need to still get to them. Not the most efficient operating system but I'm afraid to delete anything :)
ReplyDeleteI have a couple emails and I find it a successful day when I get one cleaned up :). It drives me crazy, too...I find I end up deleting things I shouldn't just to keep up.
ReplyDeleteOMG I am the same way!!! I have a very strict filing system so that I can handle something, file and then find it if later needed but darn it that thing cannot stay in my inbox!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for keeping your inbox so clean...I won't even tell you how many I have in mine. It's embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm catching up on blog posts because I was on vacation last week in Duck, NC, too! Crazy, right? And, your birthday is two days after mine and my husband's (yes, he and I have the same bday). We celebrated at the Blue Pointe on the Sound in Duck and did some shopping at the Lily store in town. We go there every year and get a house with family - don't you love it there? :)
I am much the same way. My work e-mail gets out of control very quickly though. I've been struggling with keeping up with all my personal ones and also forgot to schedule two bill payments last month as a result...it's cleaned up now!
ReplyDeleteI'm all about cleaning my inbox!! As soon as I get a message, I have to reply right then and there or else I will forget. So, when I reply back immediately, I look like a HUGE keener. But if I don't do it, it might be weeks until someone gets a reply!
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the walk of shame here. Waaay too many emails in my inbox. I seem to be keeping an archive for posterity or something. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have about 36 in my work inbox at all times because there are long-term outstanding projects or items I have to wait forever to feedback on from others. I use a TON of folders and have to clean them out periodically, too. Something to add to my to-do list!
ReplyDeleteMy dad swears by the "touch it once" method!! But I am too much of a procrastinator! Not my best trait!
ReplyDeleteI think I have 15,000 emails in my inbox...
ReplyDeleteHAhahahaha, I hear you! I'm the same way, my inbox has to be close to empty. I have folders where I store my emails, but if there are any in the inbox and it gets too much, I feel overwhelmed :)
ReplyDeleteI am the same way as you about my inbox! But right now it's a big hot mess, so…..ugh. But I do normally like it nice and neat :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think letting your email pile up is a problem as long as you aren't missing important things or social things that are in those emails. Since it seems like you are actually missing things, you probably need to get on it and clean out your inbox, lol. Then just try to keep up with your email daily. I go through all my new emails daily to ensure that I don't have anything to reply to. I seem to have around 100 emails in my inbox, but most of those are one's that I already responded to, and I'm just keeping them there for some reason until the event or correspondence is over (future concerts, ongoing projects, etc). I have a ton of folders that I file stuff in among various categories to get it out of my inbox once I've dealt with it.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I love google calendar, it has become my entire calendar for things to do. It can send you an email reminder before the calendar event starts. I also added an app for google calendar for my iphone, so I can check it mobile style.
ReplyDeletewww.google.com/calendar
Your so funny! your totally type A:) SOOO A NURSE! We are all that way!!! xoxoxoo Hanna
ReplyDeleteoh geez! you would die if you saw my business gmail account...i'm lucky if I can keep it down to 30 unread emails:/
ReplyDeletei'm totally OCD about my inbox, work and personal email both. drives me crazy when i'm out of town and can't keep it cleaned up!
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way about my inbox too. Allan has all his email accounts linked to his iPhone and he constantly has between 60-100 unread messages. I never leave anything unread!
ReplyDeleteOh man, I wish I had a system. My phone is completely clear, but my hotmail account (yup, I still do that) doesn't link the phone to the internet so I have to delete twice. So dumb! But it's the email with everything important going on, so I don't want to get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. I am so anal about my emails. I have like 13034 folders and everything is so completely organized or I freak out.
ReplyDeleteuhh, my work email is in "good shape" if i have less than 100 in my inbox. haha. i (finally) got it under 100 last week and it has been a challenge to keep it under that! i keep things in my inbox that i still need to do / address / follow-up with the person on. my home email isn't much better... :-/ i leave them there so that i am reminded to do them and yet everytime i look at them i think "eh, later".
ReplyDeleteI used to only use the inbox, but last week I realized I had over 7000 emails in my inbox, no joke. So I created anout 20 folders and sorted and deleted for what felt like hours. It is now very organized!
ReplyDelete