October 2nd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
So get this, 600 emails in my Outlook inbox, 25 emails unread. In the past week, finally have tuned it down to 252 emails in my Outlook inbox and 9 unread emails. An accomplishment? My goal - ZERO emails in my Outlook box and ZERO unread emails.
I have multiple email folders based on topic and email type… yet when I want to find an email that I had read before but had not deleted, I CAN’T SEEM TO FIND IT! Hence you can see my dilemma in trying to attempt to file my remaining emails. Talk about wanting to rip my hair out. I call it disorganized orderly syndrome - I try to be organized but yet it ends up making me more disorganized in a way that I can’t even find anything! In my case, it is not just emails. It goes with things that I pack away and keep in drawers or cupboards.
I had someone close to me that was a classic example: his home office was a picture of disorganization i.e. he had piles of papers stacked up on his table, none of which were organized in any way. However, he knew exactly where everything was and to where that specific document was under that stack. It was like he had his own organized filling cabinet - in his mind. One day, those piles of papers were unexpectedly “organized” and he became mad/ frustrated because all of a sudden he just couldn’t find anything anymore! He was organized in a disorganized way.
So what exactly is my problem? I may actually be that very person of which needs to be disorganized to “know how to find something”. Why else would I have organized folders, filling cabinets, and drawers only to not be able to find anything when the time comes.
Sorry to digress, getting back to my email disorganization, I came across Merlin Mann’s 43 Folder blog and his showcase “Inbox Zero” articles. He does offer some very good tips and solutions - some a little humorous, some obvious and some of which are “outside the box”:
- There is the classic Delete, delete, delete (or, “Fail faster”); I think the title explains itself.
No, I don’t do that to all of you emailing me ;-)
- The Email Cheats; basic “thank you” responses, responses to frequently asked questions and the responses to administrative information requests
- Being an Email Ninja; mastering how to be more productive in processing your email.
I need an Email Sensei or better yet Mr. Miyagi (bless his soul) to teach me how to wax on wax off the tao of email organization.
- My favorite is the Email DMZ (it makes it a little more humorous if you are an IT guy i.e. with the term DMZ) …1. Open your email program and create a new folder called “DMZ“
2. Go to your email inbox and Select All
3. Drag those emails from your inbox into the DMZ folder
4. Go, and sin no more.
One of my blogging friends Tina from Recommended did point me to a post… Glenn Wolsey’s 6 Ways to Organize your Mail Application which I found very useful. I especially like his way of organization by creating “Smart” folders… i.e. create 3 folders and name them Follow-Up, Interesting & To Do, then as you check your emails file them straight into the applicable folder - to later go straight to these folders at a relevant time and work through them.
A lot to take in, a lot to practice. So the day I put into practice and clear my email down to a minimal amount, I will know that I have put my life in balance and perspective - well, maybe that’s taking it too far - at least I may be taking a step in the right direction with a purposeful perspective in life. I may even go one step further of listing my “lifetime to-do list” (thanks Angela!).
Maybe then, I may actually find that watch I was looking for in the drawer or that specific document that I put in my drawer … and actually become that organized orderly that I have always “pretended” to be!
3 Responses to “Disorganized Orderly Syndrome”
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Loup Dargent said: @ 3:46 pm
October 2nd, 2006
I’ve given up trying to open most of the emails
in my Yahoo account… 99% of them being spams.
I’m doing a bit better with my Gmail one though…
So there is hope somehow. :-)
Happy C&C Monday
Kristyn said: @ 7:28 pm
October 2nd, 2006
My hubby and I always joke that if we cleaned up we wouldn’t be able to find anything. I should have we say it half-jokingly, when I clean, we indeed can’t find anything! We’re disorganized organized!
I used to be really organized, I knew where everything was. I wonder what happened those those day?!
Kristyn
The Foo said: @ 10:06 pm
October 2nd, 2006
Loup: Thanks for stopping by! and happy C&C Monday to you too.
Kristyn: yes isn’t it funny how the mind works in mysterious ways. i think that cleaning up would probably be bad as you will probably never be able to find anything ever again ;-) it ALWAYS happens to me.