Using Time Wisely

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A Clutter-Free Inbox – Step 2 of 4

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Is your unread inbox count shrinking, yet? You can click on STEP ONE if need to review or if you missed last week’s tip. Sorting through will take time. Just keep working through those e-mails to delete unwanted items. As you scan through those e-mails, are you finding any companies or individuals that keep repeating? If so, your e-mail address may be on a mailing list. If so, here is what you can do:

STEP TWO:

Unsubscribe to mailing lists.

I have found that after placing an on-line order with a company, I may be added to their monthly, or sometimes weekly, newsletter and sales. When I find that I am getting e-mails from the same company repeatedly, i.e. Toys R Us, Amazon, etc., I open up one of the messages and scroll to the bottom. Somewhere in the last few paragraphs should be a link to “unsubscribe.” I click on the link, verify my e-mail address to be removed, and send the message. Depending on the site, I may get messages up to a week later. But once my e-mail address has been removed, those e-mails are no longer cluttering my inbox.

Managing your inbox may take some time. As you work to unsubscribe, you may find the clutter disappearing. Next week, I will try to help you manage SPAM in your inbox. What about you, do you have any tips for ridding our inboxes of unwanted items?

A Clutter-Free Inbox – Step 1 of 4

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How many e-mails are currently in your in-box? I know individuals who keep hundreds of items in their inbox. YIKES! Just writing this amount overwhelms me. I realize that some people do not check e-mail often, but there are ways to manage your inbox to keep that overwhelmed feeling at bay.

As an owner of about ten e-mail accounts, I check each one at least once a week. My personal e-mail gets checked more frequently, numerous times a day. In my personal account, I currently have 6 read e-mail and 0 unread e-mails. My junk e-mail account (used for purchasing merchandise and registering for promotions, free items, coupons, etc.) has 4 read e-mails and 57 unread e-mails. Most of these items are . . . well . . . junk, but I still scan through to catch the information I may need.

Though there are a number of ways to manage your inbox, I follow the same 4-steps for each of my accounts.

STEP ONE:

Delete unnecessary items.

I immediately delete any item I don’t need, including advertisements, store announcements, savings/clearance notices of stores I am not planning to visit within the next month, etc. I also usually delete the “FWD: FWD:” messages. These are usually sent from well-meaning friends and family with tips, virus alerts, funny stories, etc. If I have the time and know the sender, I MAY read the message. However, in an effort to save time, I usually delete these items.

Deleting items can be done quickly. I deal with the 10 or so messages I can see at one time on my screen. I will click on the box to the left-hand side of any messages that need to be deleted. As I click in the box, the message will be highlighted. I will highlight all unwanted messages which could be anywhere from 4 to 10 of those messages. Then I click the DELETE button which is next to the REPLY button on the title bar. All those highlighted messages have now been moved to the TRASH. The next set of messages now moves up and I repeat this process until I have touched all unwanted messages. This process takes me between 5-10 minutes. I am then left with the messages I need to read.

Stay tuned next week for STEP TWO on how I manage my inbox. Do you have a quick and efficient way to weed through your list of messages? If so, please leave a comment with your tips.

Waiting or Working?

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When my hubby arrived home and played with the kids, I took the opportunity to work on dinner alone. I put the pot on the stove and had some time to wait for the water to boil. During this time, I would have sat down to rest, if needed. But on this day, I needed to get my kitchen in order. Here is what I was able to accomplish while making dinner:

  1. Unloaded the dishwasher,
  2. Reloaded the dishwasher,
  3. Wiped down the counters,
  4. Finished my menu plan for the week, and
  5. Wrote out my grocery list.

At the end of the 25-30 minutes, I had a clean kitchen, menu plan, grocery list, and dinner made. After dinner, I was able to play with the kids while hubby graciously cleaned up the kitchen. Using the little chunks of time during the day to accomplish small tasks adds up to extra time spent doing what I enjoy – playing with my kids. What can you accomplish while waiting for water to boil?

Little Time, Little Project

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What do you do with little bits of time? I try to get little projects completed. For example, when waiting in car line to pickup my son, I can be found:

  • Cleaning out my vehicle.

Tasks like putting the toys in their assigned spots, shaking out the car mats, folding blankets, and dusting out car seats. My oldest daughter likes to help while my younger daughter enjoys the extra kisses she gets as we work around her.

  • Reading to my daughters.

I like to bring along some of the books we chose at the library. The girls enjoy hearing the stories read over and over and over again.

  • Singing with my oldest daughter.

We often listen to music CDs in the car. My oldest daughter loves music, and she loves to learn new songs. My youngest daughter enjoys babbling along with us.

  • Solving puzzles.

I love the Sudoku puzzles in the newspaper and magazines. I cut them out and save them for a time when I have a little time to spare. When the girls are occupied with toys or books, I can sometimes get a little time alone.

The car line is a dependable 5 to 15 minutes of wait time. By preparing purposefully for that time, I can accomplish a little project in a little time while using my time wisely.

Odds and Ends

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Hump Day has arrived! I first heard this term during my first semester of college. A professor welcomed the class on a Wednesday afternoon with, “Happy Hump Day!” I remember staring at him and thinking, “What in the world is ‘hump day’?”  After consulting an upperclassman, I learned that Wednesday was Hump Day. The explanation continued that the week is like a hill. After climbing the hill on Monday and Tuesday, you will reach the hump on Wednesday. Take a breath. Then the decline takes place on Thursday and Friday ending with the welcomed weekend.

Upon reaching the top of the hump today, I am taking a breath. This includes catching up on items that have been toss to the side during my busy Monday and Tuesday, preparing for the rest of my week, and relaxing for a few minutes to refresh.

In the spirit of calm, I plan to post on Wednesdays miscellaneous items that have helped me along the way. For example, next Wednesday I’ll share what I do when I only have a few minutes to spare. Until that time, I wish you a breath of fresh air as you enjoy the rest of this Hump Day.