Make your bed. Empty the dishwasher. Put away your clean laundry. Clean out your inbox. These tasks each take about five minutes. The completed tasks provide a sense of accomplishment while creating an order to life. These tasks are not unlike when a child is told to pick up their toys when playtime is over. It creates order and demonstrates completion.

Of these examples, the email inbox is probably the most difficult to keep clean. Unlike having dishes stack in the sink, your inbox doesn’t stink. It gets cluttered and hard to find emails, but it doesn’t stink. So it’s easy to ignore. My biggest inbox challenge is that I’m afraid of losing a key email I’ll need later. Discovering the email folder system and the ability to search gave me the tools I needed to sort, organize, and file emails in such a manner to keep the inbox clear.

Admittedly the first time I approached this plan my #mailbox had hundreds of emails. So I began with the oldest emails. Created a folder nomenclature that matched my needs and within an hour there were less than 25 emails in the inbox. Now as I finish my workday or week, I take a few minutes to plan the next day, and I tidy up my inbox.

Making your bed creates a calm environment. Empty the dishwasher ensures you have what is needed for eating. Putting your laundry away allows you to dress for success. And cleaning out your inbox makes your #workday go more smoothly.

Give it a try and let me know.

KK

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