Exit Email Hell in 3 Steps
Here's one of the many things I do to cut down email overload.
We've been asking everyone for years at Simpleology to stop checking their email throughout the day - and to only check it after they have done their Daily Target Praxis (see Simpleology 101) and completed their Daily Targets.
This has an immediate positive effect on your productivity. It's like magic.
But if you've been using Simpleology you already know this.
Here are three steps you can take to cut down the email noise even more:
Step 1. Say goodbye to your current email address.
Let's face it - if you're getting pummeled with spam it's not gonna stop. Yes, you can use SpamArrest and other tools like that, but over time the SpamArrest filter box becomes just another inbox to check. You have to check it for false positives or risk losing mail.
So, what do you do?
You dump it. Forever.
Ask your sys admin or ISP to put up this autoresponder message:
Sorry, this email box is no longer valid. To learn how to contact me, please visit (YOUR WEBSITE HERE).
More about that in a minute.
2. Set up 5 email boxes as follows.
Your ISP may already provide you with multiple email accounts - if not, set up 5 Gmail accounts (you can access them all from the same copy of Outlook)
You'll need one email box for personal friends and family. Give that one out to ... you guessed it.
You'll need one for general business contacts. You give this one out to potential contacts you meet via your business card, your website, etc. (Tip: you should use a contact form or otherwise protect your address from spam-bots.) If you're like me you'll have someone else monitor this box for you and only send you stuff that's important.
You'll need a third box for "close" business contacts. These are people you work with daily, extremely important contacts, "mission critical" notifications (like the ones you get from Simpleology - hey, when you read us you get more time back than you put in), etc. You can "promote" certain people to this email box as needed.
You'll need a fourth box that you use to "sign up for free stuff." Every time you subscribe to a newsletter you'll use this address.
You'll need a fifth and final box for making online purchases. You guessed it ... Buy stuff - use this address.
So, how does this help?
Read on ...
3. Filter into 5 separate folders.
You can do this with most email clients. If you use Outlook (most of us do), for example, you'll use the "Rules Wizard."
You just have to create 5 folders in Outlook (corresponding to the 5 email boxes listed above) and then tell the Rules Wizard to send the email that comes in to each of those accounts to the corresponding folder.
How does this help?
Well, it should be obvious, but give it a shot and you'll see.
After I do my Daily Target Praxis and finish my Daily Targets, then I check my folder for emails from Close Business Contacts. If you've done this properly, this box should be 100% spam free.
I'll either answer the emails in this folder on the spot or add new items to my Dream Catcher (for processing in the next day's DTP).
Then I can peruse my other inbox folders at my leisure.
Side Note: If any of you guys want to turn this into a youtube video to make this system easier for folks to follow, go for it. I'll post about the first/best video tutorial I see in the blog. Just make sure you show folks how to read this original blog post in the video and also show them how to set up a Simpleology account - it's a vital part of the system. Post a link to your tutorial in the comments section and I'll keep my eye out for it.
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