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Clark Creative Studio

Clark Creative Studio

10/01/2016 By Amber Clark

Detox your In-box

Filed Under: Business Organization & Management Tagged With: business organization, digital organization, Technology

With warmer weather just around the corner, I am in full Spring cleaning mode – only not in the ways you might think. Instead of focusing on windows and garages (though I’ll eventually get around to that too) I am on a major digital rejuvenation kick…

I finally cleared out my email accounts — over 24,000 emails sorted, organized, deleted, or saved (if essential), resulting in less than 60 emails in my in-box consisting of my current and potential client communications. I feel like I just kicked a bad relationship to the curb! Even though it doesn’t physically take up space, it is surprising how much stress/pressure that build-up can still put on your life.

Here is what I’ve learned:

  1. Create your Folders/Labels BEFORE you sort – Decide before you start what things are vital for you to keep – Make DETAILED folders/labels (to avoid more dump spots) such as Taxes, Medical, Business Receipts, Travel Itineraries, etc. You may have to add a folder or two during the sorting process, but this will streamline your efforts and prevent you from keeping everything.
  2.  UNSUBSCRIBE – No matter how great your intentions, if you haven’t looked at them by this point, you aren’t going to read all those newsletters, tips, or sales leads, etc.

     

  3. Stop the coupon madness – coupons are great, but unless you are part of a specialty loyal group (not the generally preferred customer status), most coupons are just a Google or coupon.com search away.

     

  4. Minimize the alerts – No one wants to miss a critical alert, but there is no reason bombard yourself with reminders that you’ll eventually tune out anyway. Start with sites you frequent most – Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. switch off the email alerts and save them for accounts to you don’t manage as often.

     

  5.  Client communications – Keeping records are essential both for you and your client, but if a client’s project complete, paid in full, and it’s been over 30 days, you are typically safe to archive.

     

  6. Clear out “other folders” first (sent folder, drafts, promotions, social, etc.) Start with your digital junk drawer and circle through any “other” folders at the start. Typically, they are the fastest to sort through and usually contain the highest percentage of disposable emails. Purging a large number of emails quickly will put you in the right mindset to tackle those main email areas and increases the likeliness of you sticking to the task until completion.

For me, the entire process only took a couple of hours – amazing when you think about how many emails I had at the start.

Because it wasn’t one of those to-do’s that required 100% of my brain capacity, I knocked it out during a veg-night while watching a movie with my husband. The only other thing that can make this process better? Popcorn. 

6 Month Update:

For those curious whether or not I’ve been able to maintain my in-box after taming the beast, the answer is YES! With minimal effort and keeping my sorting rules in place, I average between 10-30 emails in my in-box at the end of the week (again, just those emails about current or potential projects).

With very few exceptions, subscriptions, newsletters, or non-client related emails are only allowed to stay until the end of day on Friday – if I haven’t made time to read it by then – too, bad, so sad, sayonara.

Not only am I able to more quickly find the emails I need, when I need them, but I also finish the week with an increased feeling of accomplishment and less pull to put in extra hours over the weekend

By far, the best benefit was also the most surprising – just how much digitally detoxing my in-box would contribute to a more mentally present, fulfilling time with my family.

2020 Update:

Still going strong! It is crazy that just a few hours of minimal effort over 4 years ago is still maintaining my in-box.

The only addition to the system is I have added is a -YEAR- Receipts folder and -YEAR- subscriptions folder where I save all receipts and subscriptions during that calendar year for easy tax filing and quick retrieval. At the end of the year, I archive it and start a new folder. 🙂 

Next Post: Kick-off New Years by booting resolutions to the curb. »

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Welcome

Hi, I’m Amber. I’ve lived at the intersection of marketing and design for over a decade, so I’ve been there, done that, and love this! Couple things you will want to know about me:

I approach projects from both a creative and systematic perspective. The innovative side of my brain pushes me to deliver visually stunning designs that capture attention; meanwhile, my analytical-side ensures that every process and detail has a purpose that supports the overall client and company objectives…

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