Jennifer Hofmann
Confession: I subscribe to stuff I never intend to read.
In a perfect world, I’d read all about my friends’ businesses, my airline’s latest deals, and that cool networking group in town. But when push comes to shove, I don’t. Instead, these emails clutter up my inbox to the point that I miss super important stuff.
What it means to have inbox clutter
Dealing with email is never as simple as responding. Email asks you to make decisions.
• “Should I keep this?”
• “Do I have time to read this right now? Or reply?”
• “What can I do so I remember to get back to this?”
• “Arrgh! What was I doing?”
Whether your inbox has 40 or 1400 unread messages, that’s a lot of work. You might feel ill just thinking about it.
If you’re like most people, you believe you “should” read every email thoroughly and respond thoughtfully. Believing this is what makes most people avoid cleaning out the inbox. It’s overwhelming.
Sanity pronouncement: You do not have to deal with each and every email in your inbox. Honest.