I’ve reached a new high…
When I first learned how to use Outlook and manage my email, I was taught never to let my inbox messages exceed a certain number. Emails messages, once read and acted upon would be moved over to an appropriate folder where they could be filed if needed later.
I set that number at 100, but I’ve always tried to get to under 50. There are always a few emails that stay there in my inbox because I want to think about them, I’m not sure what to do with them, or I don’t know where to file them. They aren’t quite worthy of deleting, and I don’t know where to save them.
This month has been unbelievably busy. I reached a new high of 600 email messages in my inbox (100 unread!). Now we’re not talking spam here, that gets deleted all day long and accounts for another 80 percent of my email.
Why bother with sorting into file folders off to the side? It takes too long to find a message otherwise. And I don’t get a feeling of overwhelm when I look at my inbox. I can handle looking at 100 messages, more or less, because I know that the first few need handling, and the rest are waiting for replies. I can handle that.
I know this is boring to you, but bear with me. I discovered during my morning walk around the Del Mar beach why this was happening.
Mega Insight into Brain!
How could I slip into such slovenly email habits? Because this was a very creative and productive month. I was able to shut out the demands of messages and tasks to be done, in favor of creating new articles and products.
I am usually an organized person, and like to have that feeling of being in control of my chores. In fact, I usually do chores before sitting down to write and create.
This month was different, I wrote and created. "To hell with email," my creative self said. "So what!" if a client wants something from me. "Too bad my husband is hungry," said I.
My Battling Inner Selves…
You may have noticed my previous postings from my evil marketing twin. So now I discover I have more than just an Inner Schmoozer. I have my Creative Self (also known as big inner slob) and my Organized Self and the two are at odds as to which task gets attention.
Which leads me to ask, is it possible to be creative AND organized? And, would that be any fun?
I’d love to hear from you about how you manage your email (somebody help me), your battling inner selves (no crazies here, I’m not doing psychology any more), and…how you balance competing drives.
Patsi and her committee
P.S.
If you’re a coach and want to get and stay organized, try out Sylva Leduc’s Client Compass software. It’s a really good tool. Sylva also has a number of products and informational tools to help you stay up to date. I’ve even been featured on her marketing series and you can learn more here (prices go up March 1, so hurry!).
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