Today I started to organise my digital world by tackling my inbox. I kept ending up with 666 emails in there which seemed like a sign for making a change so I decided to organise it in a different way to try and ensure I read the important ones and help me to figure out what to keep and what to unsubscribe from.
I set up categories for the types of emails I receive and then I created rules for them so now the new emails I get should go into their respective categories and then I will allocate time in my day to check through certain categories each day. I have a category for writing for instance, so I have allocated time on a Monday to look at the emails in that section. If I find that I'm never getting to a particular category and there are constantly unread emails in that section, then I know I can delete those and unsubscribe. I set up a category for shopping as well as I do get a few promo emails for companies I really like. That way I'm not distracted by them as they come in and I can allocate a non-productive part of my day to looking through these at my leisure. Super important emails, like from the girls' schools I have left uncategorised so they show up in my inbox.
I ended up organising it this way because I came to the realisation that there is absolutely no way I can read and absorb and implement all the ideas and offers and advice I receive every week by email. I want to simplify and only keep the ones that are adding actual value for me and helping me to reach my goals. It's hard to monitor that when they are all in one giant bucket, but by sorting them out, I am easily able to see what categories I am investing in most and if the balance is right for what I'm actually trying to accomplish. I'm hoping it will also help keep my brain clearer and my time with email more focussed and productive as I won't be getting distracted by the 30% off voucher from my favourite makeup brand while trying to read about building a business.
I find I have to constantly and intentionally limit and edit what words I'm focussing on. I have a pretty organised record of the books I'm currently reading and try to stick with only reading books that are on my book list, but sometimes I get distracted there too, like I just read The Rooftoppers, which was a great book and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't on my reading list. If I want to get through the books I want to read this year, I'm going to have to be more intentional with my reading as well.
In some ways I think I am quite a reactionary person and I want to flip that and instead of reacting to stimulus and outside forces, I want to create my environment and be intentional about the activities I'm doing and the things I'm reading. Instead of my day happening to me, I want to tell my day where to go and what to focus on. I know this is common sense for more people, but it is something I haven't paid a lot of attention to until recently.
My quote for today is, “Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others' choices make us.”
My photo for today is my empty inbox. A surprisingly satisfying accomplishment for me.
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