Does your email Inbox need to go on a diet? Try mine.
My spell checker tells me "unsubscribe" isn't a word but I know it is because I've been doing a lot of it lately.
Now that I've achieved "Inbox Zero" (I'll tell you how I did it in a later post) new emails into my nearly-empty Inbox stand out like a huge pimple on an otherwise unblemished forehead. And I'm getting more these days now that the holiday shopping season is in high gear.
And so I'm being ruthless at unsubscribing (also not a word) from as many newsletters and other email subscriptions as doable. I know I can always re-subscribe if I change my mind.
It feels fantastic. You should try it.
Question yourself, "Do I usually read email from this person/company/group?" If the answer is no, hit the unsub link (okay, now I'm making up words).
If you're not sure, or if you do at era read these emails, leave the subscription in house for now. You can have another go at this once you've removed the most obvious subscriptions.
Another option is to make a filter to involuntarily send these emails to your email archive. You'll still get them but you won't have to see them, unless and until you choose to. Filters are simple to set up in gmail; check your email client's help file to see if this is doable and how to do it.
A third option for reducing the amount of incoming email is to set up another email address specifically for these subscriptions. Some email services allow you to change your email address. Others require you to unsubscribe and re-subscribe with the new email address.
I have an email address I set up for this purpose. Right now I have all of those messages forwarded to my regular Inbox, but it's simple to turn off this function. I can then check the other email tab once a month, scan through the messages, and choose if there is whatever business value reading.
I like getting email. It's an vital part of my work and personal life. I'm sure email is vital to you, too. But when you get too many emails, particularly emails you aren't reading, it's time to place your email Inbox on a diet.
You might want to rush. The after Christmas sales will be here before we know it.