You have decluttered your home (hopefully using the KonMari Method) and are now ready to change the rest of your life!
I’m excited for you and ready to help you tackle your digital clutter. Because clutter affects our well-being: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Clutter is not only found in our homes but also in our technology, devices and daily tasks such as email. So why not KonMari your email inbox too?
Not sold on this concept? Let me tell you that I was burned out by the digital clutter in my life. I felt overwhelmed checking my email inbox and seeing hundreds of emails in the big red circle waiting to be opened, read and responded to. And it was exhausting. I spent way too many hours on email each week and I needed to make a change.
If you’ve felt this way. Remember, you are NOT alone.
Since my burnout in 2015, I’ve applied the KonMari Method to my email – including four work and one personal email inbox.
By the way, I’m one of ~300 Certified KonMari Method Coaches and Consultants in the world helping clients SPARK JOY in their lives and live with less clutter and more energy.
What happened? KonMari’ing my email inbox has transformed my life. My day-to-day workflow is something to look forward to. I’m more productive. I’m able to focus on what matters most in my business and in my life.
How to KonMari your Email Inbox
The framework I have found that works – and what my business is named after is: Clarify, Simplify, Align.
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- Clarify your WHY, Purpose and Values
- Simplify your Home, Mind and Schedule
- Align your Goals and Work INTO your Life
Step 1: Gain clarity
Clarify your ideal lifestyle. How do work and email fit into your life? I use my Ideal Lifestyle Check-in worksheet weekly to set intention into 10 different areas of my life. You can grab your copy of this check-in sheet for free in the download below on Decluttering your Email Inbox. I personally complete this process using my Clarify Simplify Align Quarterly Journal & Planner available via Amazon.
Clarify the purpose of your email inbox. What type of communication tool do you want to use it as? Is email for non-urgent communication or urgent communication. You get to decide. I used to believe that working for a corporation, I didn’t get to make this choice. I HAD to respond to every email right away. Now, I’ve clarified the purpose of email and it is for non-urgent communication. I teach my colleagues, team, and clients how to get ahold of me urgently – via phone or text – and not via email.
Step 2: Keep it simple
Keep it simple to free up your space and mind to generate energy daily. You can use these basic principles to get started.
Three Basic principles to get started…
- Focus on what matters most
- Accept that not everything can be accomplished
- Make your priorities your priorities
Step 3: Practice alignment
Align your work and goals into your life. No, not the other way around. Yes, I’ve been guilty of switching the order of this too. It’s commonplace…work overtakes our lives…and we become stuck checking email at 7 pm or while in bed in the morning. Let’s put an end to this, my friends!
Here are the first five steps in my 15-step process to KonMari your Email Inbox. Get all 15-steps for free in the download below.
1. Prepare for Email Inbox Zero
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- Locate your Archive Folder (also known as All Mail folder)
- Make sure all devices are connected and synchronized
2. Clear the Clutter
- Move all mail to Archive folder except those in last 24 hours
- Every email will have 3 options
- File into “Archive” folder (NOT using folders to categorize, use the search bar)
- Act on it now if 2 minutes or less
- Defer and set time in the calendar to address (then archive email)
3. Turn off pop-up notifications
- Take back your TIME and control and check email proactively instead of reactively constantly throughout the day
- Turn off notifications – pop-ups, badges, alerts, counts
- Turn off push notifications on all devices
- Switch “push” or “constant” on your device to “fetch” or “check manually”
4. Create a “no email before breakfast” rule
- Email is a work tool, so let’s move it to work time.
5. Unsubscribe
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- Unsubscribe from every email you can.
- Do this before Clearing the Clutter for the day.
- One-click unsubscribe or unsubscribe at bottom of the email
Now it’s your turn to Konmari your email inbox! Write down one step you’ll take to reset burnout from email. Download all 15-steps for decluttering your email FREE on my website, DrJessicaLouie.com here.
