Sometimes, you need to clear out that e-mail in-box
Posted By David Gough
Posted 25 days ago
I almost declared bankruptcy last week - e-mail bankruptcy. I like to think of myself as pretty organized. I might not look organized, but I seem to have everything covered.
Even though I'm organized, my e-mail inbox folder is a mess. It's usually has between 600 and 800 e-mails.
Last week it started to creep up to the magical 1,000 number, so on Tuesday I started to go nuts. I've spent some time slashing, deleting and just generally getting rid of e-mails. It was time-consuming.
A small part of me wondered if it would be better to start anew. Just get rid of everything, or almost everything.
On a weekly basis, I get close to 500 pieces of information to put in the newspaper. The bulk of that information is through e-mail. Some I can erase, but some I never know if I might use the information. I always have a nagging suspicion that I will delete something and then will need that information later on.
But you know how many times I have deleted an email and regretted it? Never.
The information I get varies. Some of it is a coming event, some are letters to the editor, and others are press releases. Sometimes it's reader-generated content.
I also get a whack of Google alerts to keep me abreast of ongoing developments. Some of the subjects include Wallaceburg, Port Lambton, Shaun Suisham and Bubble Boy.
I filter the information and try to put as much information into the paper as possible, without content going through the cracks.
There is also a nice Nigerian prince who e-mails from time-to-time asking me to cash a money order for him.
I started slow, getting rid of e-mails for an hour on Tuesday when I was on a conference call.
Still, with 650 e-mails remaining in my inbox, I knew that drastic action was needed so I got rid of all my e-mails up to the beginning of the month. That got me down to 245.
Another purge got me down to 230, the lowest I've been since my computer crashed a couple of years ago, which forced me into my first e-mail bankruptcy.
I survived my first e-mail bankruptcy and I'm sure it will be no big deal getting rid of everything up until this month. In matter of fact I feel semi-cleansed.
If you want to drop David Gough a line and add to his growing e-mail tally, e-mail him at couriernews@bowesnet.com.
