Comments on: E-mail fu

By: Liz D.

Liz D. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:37:29 +0000

PQ- THANKS A TON for posting this and for putting the link to the Inbox Zero. I SO needed this. I’ve been overwhelmed by my email lately and it is truly getting out of hand. I went to the 43 Folders site and watched the video and I swear he was talking just for me! I got right on my email (work) and sorted and made folders and acted right then on a few things that I’ve just been ‘meaning to get to’ for weeks. I am down to 3 things in my inbox, and I left them there only because I have a call regarding them tomorrow. But now I will have to remember to regularly visit all the new folders I created, like “action needed” often enough to get the work done. But I feel SO MUCH better. And you my dear woman were the catalyist. Thanks a ton.

By: PastaQueen

PastaQueen — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:43:22 +0000

@Laura Pugh – Earlier this year I had a computer problem which resulted in me losing all my bookmarks…and it was such a relief! They were gone, never to return, and I didn’t have to sort through them or worry about them. I would never have done it on my own, but I’m glad it happened.

By: Laura Pugh

Laura Pugh — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:10:39 +0000

My email situation is so out of control I should just start over. My husband and I have an account together with over a thousand (that’s one THOUSAND) unread messages. Mostly junkmail. So why don’t we delete it? I guess I’m waiting for him to do it in case it’s something he wants to keep. He’s probably waiting for me to do it, but I’ve got my own email account to worry about. It’s got thousands of messages in the inbox too (but at least they are all read).

I suffer from “i might need it at some point” syndrome. The problem is, I get so disgusted with myself and feel so yucky about it that it’s worse than if I deleted something I may need some day. Isn’t it amazing how any type of clutter, even cyber clutter, can weigh you down? You should see the mess that is my “bookmarks”! :)

By: KateG

KateG — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:13:16 +0000

For the first time in about 10 years I have a job where you can’t check your personal email on the work computers. This has been kind of annoying, but ultimately probably will be liberating. When I get home I check my email, answer everything that needs answering and then I’m done. No more checking and checking during the day. Ok so I am only 2 months into said new job so I’m not sure I will always find it liberating!

By: Nicky

Nicky — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:16:04 +0000

I used to rely on my work inbox as a reminder to get things done, but since I usually receive at least 100 emails a day, it becomes a bit overwhelming. INow I immediately send most emails to an “archive” folder (both sent and received) so I can refer back to them for CYA situations. At home, I do a lot of deleting but I mostly answer immediately. I don’t have any issue with responding to an email right away, since I like people to get back to me tout suite! There’s no stigma against email cuddlers in my world.

By: Denise

Denise — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:52:23 +0000

My personal email generally stays under 20 messages in the Inbox while I shoot for 40 or less in my work Inbox (via the liberal use of archives) – I just feel too out of control when there’s anything more than that hanging out there. However, if one or the other has to suffer from lack of care, the personal Inbox is the first to go when I’m either stressed out or busy.

By: Panda Q

Panda Q — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:09:33 +0000

Ha ha. I thought this was going to be NSFW, like email, f- you. LOL.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:40:09 +0000

I started doing the folder thing too, since I get zillions of email a day. Now I have two dozen folders in my inbox!!! ACK. I have to have the work email up constantly during the day because we have a policy here that we have to respond to our volunteers within a certain time frame or they get a $10 off coupon to the company store, and I get my ass chewed. So I spend a lot of my day responding to idiots who tell me things aren’t working on the website that are, or helping them find something that was right on the home page.

I’m trying to make a point of clearing stuff out or filing it by the end of the day so I don’t get any more nastygrams from the email server police.

I’m also a Blackberry nerd–all 4 of my email addresses get forwarded to it.

By: tina

tina — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:43:46 +0000

My inbox is my dirty little secret. Everything in my house is in tip top order. My e-mail, however, resembles a 600 square foot apartment housing a hoarder. I have a dozen or so folders in my e-mail to sort and archive, but my account is 82% full and has 130 “unread” e-mails that I’ve flagged for later use or response. I’ll bet that 90% of those e-mails are past their expiration date.

I’ve vowed to clean it out before the school year starts back up again, but I said that during Winter Break too.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:25:57 +0000

Dude, I tried that whole putting my emails in a “respond to” and a “respond to URGENTLY” folder.

I ended up just deleting both entire folders because I never responded to either of them. Oops. Hope there was nothing truly URGENT in there :)