EMAIL MANAGEMENT | PRODUCTIVITY
Is There Harmony in Email Management?
Unveiling the Art of Inbox Zen through Deliberate Decluttering
I am completely aware of how it feels to have an overflowing inbox.
Managing the constant influx of emails can be overwhelming, but with the right tools and strategies, it's possible to take control and feel more productive. I will share with you my experience.
For a long time, my inbox was a wild jungle of messages.
There were flashy lurking subscriptions hiding behind the leaves 🍃, the occasional lost Amazon receipt playing hide-and-seek, and lately, the occasional recommended Medium articles.🌿
A few weeks ago, I started clearing my email inbox. It was as dense as a novel. 📖😯 I wrote about digital decluttering here.
I must admit that it’s been a tiring journey, but a satisfying one.
I started by simply deleting emails.
Each deleted email felt like lifting a weight off my shoulders, but there were too many. I could slowly see the progress, but I needed a system.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve developed a way to manage the thousands of emails collected over the years.
- I sorted them by sender, prioritizing emails from important contacts and work-related messages.
- I focused on clearing out promotional emails and newsletters. Unsubscribing from unnecessary subscriptions helped reduce the influx of new emails.
- I deleted old emails. It’s nice to look back at emails sent and received 20 years ago—they are like memories from the beginning of the digital era. But that era has transformed into the present. Decluttering magic is at work!
- I’ve set up filters to automatically categorize incoming emails to prevent the inbox from becoming cluttered again. This way, I can now quickly find and address the most urgent messages.
- I’ve started responding to emails promptly, avoiding the buildup of unanswered messages.
Respond to emails on time.
From personal experience, I recommend making a habit of responding to emails on time. It just makes things easier and more productive in general.
I've discovered that using this whole process has not only helped me get better at managing my emails but it's also given me pure satisfaction.
I love order; I just don’t have time to reinforce it usually. All that is about to change though, because … ↓
💫 When you consistently put in effort, it can lead to some pretty amazing changes! 💫
The zen is in place. 🧘♂️
Whenever I'm going through my inbox, I feel like I'm getting things organized and under control.
It's a great feeling! 😎👍
So I can confirm loud and clear that yes, there is harmony in email management!
Just be prepared that there is a little pre-work to be done before enjoying that zen feeling that comes after a job well done. It is, however, totally worth it!
📬 Have you tried email management? 📬
Please let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about it.
Gabriela is studying to become a full-stack developer while being a mother of three small kids. This requires her to pay for some graduate programs and boot camps to gain experience. She is writing articles on Medium and Substack to inspire others and fund her journey. If you enjoy Gabriela’s articles, Buy her a coffee to support her work.
