Dear Lord, it’s everywhere.

As much as I like email, one of the few things that absolutely drives me mad is the amount of spam, unsolicited sales emails, and just flat-out phishing attempts I come across. In my day-to-day life, I spend so much time going through and removing spam that it’s a wonder I get anything else done at all. It’s taken me some time, and while it will take some work on your part, I’ve settled on a routine that gives me at least some semblance of sanity when it comes to email.

1. Block, block, block

Sometimes, with the continual tsunami of email, all you can really do is spend a little time blocking the random messages that find their way into your inbox. To be clear, I don’t blame businesses for sending updates about what’s going on. Marketing is how you get more business. I’m just not wild about buying one thing from a business and then getting 30,000 emails in the span of a week. That “might” be an exaggeration, but there are times when it doesn’t feel like it. Blocking unwanted emails is one of the easiest ways I cut down on inbox noise.

2. Unsubscribe from old newsletters

You know what it’s like. You go to a concert or an event and they have “SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER! IT’S AWESOME!” everywhere. And in the moment you’re like, “YEAH! IT’S AWESOME!” Then the following week you start getting presale emails for events in cities you’re not likely to visit, and the sober reality hits you. Sometimes the only way to stem the tide is to hit that unsubscribe button. This is something I do when I’m not using the product or service anymore, or when I simply don’t want to hear from a company. Unsubscribing from email lists is totally fine. Unless you’re thinking of unsubscribing from your friendly neighbourhood tech blogger… which is NOT something I would recommend. 🙂

3. Mass deletion

I get a strange sense of pleasure from going through all the newsletters in my inbox and, with the knowledge that I don’t need to read any of them, rapid-fire hitting the delete button. I particularly enjoy it with the email program I use because it clusters all my sales emails into one spot. That way, I can blast through them without accidentally deleting something I actually need to pay attention to. I’ll admit it: I get a little joy from watching the unread email counter drop so fast. While options 1 and 2 are generally the better long-term solutions, this one is still useful. And honestly, it’s kind of fun if you enjoy clearing out a ton of email quickly like I do.

A little reality check

Managing and maintaining your email takes work. Yeah, I know it sucks, but it’s true. Here’s the thing though: when you manage your email properly and can keep on top of what’s coming in, everything gets easier because you actually have a process. I can give my inbox a quick glance and pretty quickly tell what’s worth keeping, what needs real attention, and what I can get rid of immediately. Once I clear out the noise, I can focus on what actually needs to get done. That concept, however, we’ll save for another post. For now, getting rid of the constant stream of spam heading your way is the main focus. Once you get that under control, maintaining your email system becomes way easier.

How do you sort your email?

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