I recently saw another blogger post a really helpful post about something that one wouldn't initially find interesting, but it was extremely relevant to my life as a college student and a blogger. I have a slightly different method than her, and given that this is the one thing that I'm actually good at, I thought I'd give it a whirl and see it would help any of you guys as well.
I consider myself it pretty well organized person. Granted, I tend forget things like any other human being (mostly in the form of actual things in actual places. where u planner? I miss u.), but for the most part my bed is always made, my dishes done at the end of the night, my desk cleared, and my email inbox read and sorted. A clean inbox is how I keep my sanity when it comes to the quantity of communication that comes in and out of my computer every day.
Now I have to balance two different email accounts daily - my school and my personal one - and since I am incapable at setting up Microsoft outlook or the mail app on my phone, I just use Gmail both online and on my phone.
Just remember: an inbox is not a home for emails, it is a cheap motel where they should only be having one-night-stands.
But that doesn't mean that the cheap motel can have some nice decorations and amenities....
HOW TO SPRUCE UP YOUR MOTEL:
Step One. Give yourself a background. If you use Gmail this can be found in your settings under themes. Right now I have a mountain theme in one and a beach theme in the other. Having a background makes an already scary place a little less scary, and a little more cozy.
And speaking of cozy...
Step Two. Configure your inbox to cozy. That makes the email subject lines just big enough for you to easily read them, but not so big as to make it harder for you to find emails.
Step Three. Your inbox should have three categories - the Important and Unread at the top, the Starred in the middle, and all the rest at the bottom. I don't know how your account knows what's important, but it does and it does a pretty good job.
Step Four. Create folders (rooms) for different categories in your life. For me, I have different folders for each account. Some examples include: Receipts, Blog, Band, Class Emails etc. I like to picture each folder as a different type of room. I don't even want to know what goes on in the band room.
Now onto what to do when an email decides to stop by your place for the night.
Step One. Read the email. Determine if it needs an email response. If it doesn't need a response, then there are two paths to take:
A) If it's just a promotion, or newsletter delete it. They don't deserve to spend the night. Also, find the quick unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email and UNSUBSCRIBE. So worth it.
B) Anything else, take down any valuable info you need from the email (date of a meeting etc) and then either delete it or store it in the correct folder. This is important: sometimes if it doesn't need a response, but it needs an action (ex: homework assignment attached) I'll leave it unread so it will catch my eye.
Step Two. If it needs a response does it need it immediately? There are two paths to take
A) If it needs a response immediately, then respond, and either delete the email or place it in the proper room.
B) If it doesn't need an immediate response / you can't give one yet, then mark the email as unread and important and leave it in your inbox.
Step Three. Some emails are just plain miscellaneous, but also important in the long run. For those leave them as read, and either mark them with a star if you need to access them a lot so they float in the middle of your screen, or just leave them in your inbox. My rule is that only 10 emails can sit in my general inbox at any given time. Think of it as the front desk of your hotel. You don't want a ton of people just waiting around crowding up the space.
Step Four. This is perhaps the most important step to keeping a clean inbox. Pretty regularly go back through your folders and delete irrelevant emails. DELETING IS VERY IMPORTANT. I do this a lot because I enjoy decluttering my life, but if you like to hold onto things, then do it at the beginning of every new semester. Some things should be held longer (receipts) than other emails that are just class reminders. You don't want your hotel to be full. Those vacant rooms are quite important.
I tend to mark emails as unread instead of flagging or starring them, probably because it lights up the entire email line. And really because the simpler the system the better.
Whenever I see the little bubble above the mail icon with a big number I literally cringe. So, if you're one of those people with a bajillion emails, I do hope this helps you sort out your inbox a bit. I at least hope my futile attempt at an extend hotel metaphor brought about a few smiles.
What tricks do you use to organize your inbox? Or just your life in general? Or are you one of those people that has a perfectly unorganized life? Teach me your ways.
I consider myself it pretty well organized person. Granted, I tend forget things like any other human being (mostly in the form of actual things in actual places. where u planner? I miss u.), but for the most part my bed is always made, my dishes done at the end of the night, my desk cleared, and my email inbox read and sorted. A clean inbox is how I keep my sanity when it comes to the quantity of communication that comes in and out of my computer every day.
Now I have to balance two different email accounts daily - my school and my personal one - and since I am incapable at setting up Microsoft outlook or the mail app on my phone, I just use Gmail both online and on my phone.
Just remember: an inbox is not a home for emails, it is a cheap motel where they should only be having one-night-stands.
But that doesn't mean that the cheap motel can have some nice decorations and amenities....
HOW TO SPRUCE UP YOUR MOTEL:
Step One. Give yourself a background. If you use Gmail this can be found in your settings under themes. Right now I have a mountain theme in one and a beach theme in the other. Having a background makes an already scary place a little less scary, and a little more cozy.
And speaking of cozy...
Step Two. Configure your inbox to cozy. That makes the email subject lines just big enough for you to easily read them, but not so big as to make it harder for you to find emails.
Step Three. Your inbox should have three categories - the Important and Unread at the top, the Starred in the middle, and all the rest at the bottom. I don't know how your account knows what's important, but it does and it does a pretty good job.
Step Four. Create folders (rooms) for different categories in your life. For me, I have different folders for each account. Some examples include: Receipts, Blog, Band, Class Emails etc. I like to picture each folder as a different type of room. I don't even want to know what goes on in the band room.
Now onto what to do when an email decides to stop by your place for the night.
Step One. Read the email. Determine if it needs an email response. If it doesn't need a response, then there are two paths to take:
A) If it's just a promotion, or newsletter delete it. They don't deserve to spend the night. Also, find the quick unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email and UNSUBSCRIBE. So worth it.
B) Anything else, take down any valuable info you need from the email (date of a meeting etc) and then either delete it or store it in the correct folder. This is important: sometimes if it doesn't need a response, but it needs an action (ex: homework assignment attached) I'll leave it unread so it will catch my eye.
Step Two. If it needs a response does it need it immediately? There are two paths to take
A) If it needs a response immediately, then respond, and either delete the email or place it in the proper room.
B) If it doesn't need an immediate response / you can't give one yet, then mark the email as unread and important and leave it in your inbox.
Step Three. Some emails are just plain miscellaneous, but also important in the long run. For those leave them as read, and either mark them with a star if you need to access them a lot so they float in the middle of your screen, or just leave them in your inbox. My rule is that only 10 emails can sit in my general inbox at any given time. Think of it as the front desk of your hotel. You don't want a ton of people just waiting around crowding up the space.
Step Four. This is perhaps the most important step to keeping a clean inbox. Pretty regularly go back through your folders and delete irrelevant emails. DELETING IS VERY IMPORTANT. I do this a lot because I enjoy decluttering my life, but if you like to hold onto things, then do it at the beginning of every new semester. Some things should be held longer (receipts) than other emails that are just class reminders. You don't want your hotel to be full. Those vacant rooms are quite important.
I tend to mark emails as unread instead of flagging or starring them, probably because it lights up the entire email line. And really because the simpler the system the better.
Whenever I see the little bubble above the mail icon with a big number I literally cringe. So, if you're one of those people with a bajillion emails, I do hope this helps you sort out your inbox a bit. I at least hope my futile attempt at an extend hotel metaphor brought about a few smiles.
What tricks do you use to organize your inbox? Or just your life in general? Or are you one of those people that has a perfectly unorganized life? Teach me your ways.
