Holding Out for Inbox Zero

I’m not at inbox zero, but I’ve been trying to cut down on the absurd number of unimportant e-mails I get per day. Especially now that I’m trying to buy less, a lot of these e-mails are downright useless. Or they’re sent so often (hi nonprofit e-mail lists), that the static completely drowns out any signal they might be sending.

It’s a kind of decluttering, I think. And I’ve been trying to do more of that lately. It still might be a form of procrastination, but I’m hoping it’ll help me get my head right so I can do more in the future.

Things that have been slain today:

  • Google+ notification e-mails that I rarely clicked through on
  • Removing myself from a few nonprofit e-mail lists
  • Reached inbox zero on the “Social” tab of my main e-mail address
  • Deleted big batches of out-of-date e-mails from Bookbub, Steam wishlist discount alerts, etc
  • Finally deleted a weekly recurring calendar event that hasn’t been accurate for YEARS but sent notifications and e-mails all the same, also deleted on calendar reminder e-mails
  • Archived all the Daily Science Fiction e-mails I haven’t read yet
  • Unsubscribed from Board Game Geek e-mails
  • Unsubscribed from the marketing list of my hosting provider
  • Archived a bunch of receipts and similar e-mails

I now have 21 messages sitting in my main inbox and 52 hanging out in the Promotions tab. So getting closer! Maybe someday all the e-mails in my inbox will actually be nominally important.

No harm in dreaming, right?

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