Why do we accumulate a lot of emails? Perhaps we don't want to deal with them, or maybe we save them for future needs. There is a similarity between overflowing email in-boxes and piles of paper mail; both "stacks" represent unmade decisions. Emails usually arrive daily and multiply quicker, without proper management, than mail delivered by the post person.
Five reasons I get behind in processing email
1. Emails require action.
2. Spider Solitaire snares my attention--until I win a game.
3. Reading an action-packed novel is more enjoyable.
4. My computer stays at home when I visit my Mom, for several days.
5. Kitty drapes herself over my shoulder and needs to be held up and petted.
Five ways to reduce email accumulation:
1. Sort email by "From." This method seems organized, whereas arrangement by "Subject " or "Receive" appears jumbled and takes longer. Process those emails that require a response--first.
2. "Unsubscribe" to emails sent daily or weekly from airlines, bookstores, and catalogs, etc.
3. Reduce the number of your email accounts, especially if you seldom look at them.
4. Ask friends to cease sending chain-letter type emails, jokes, and/or forwards, if burdensome.
5. Read and process 10 emails before playing 3 games of Spider Solitaire, or reading 5 pages in a book.
Before you start to tackle email clutter, ask and answer these questions: "Why am I putting off processing this email? Do I really need to save it? Can this information be found elsewhere?" Choose a time of day that works best for you to read and act on your emails. It works!