It's a no-brainer productivity tip, but sometimes it's good to be reminded…
If you're like me, you find yourself receiving all kinds of newsletters or emails from companies in your inbox, many of which go directly into the trash. There simply isn't enough time to read them all.
Instead of manually deleting them each time they arrive, unsubscribe or create a filtering system to read them later. Either one only takes a minute now and will save you time in the long run.
Unsubscribe
Any legitimate newsletter will have an "unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of the email (sometimes in very fine print so you may have to look closely). Click that to unsubscribe.
If you don't see an "unusubscribe" link, it's likely spam, in which case I generally just mark as spam.
Unless it adds real value to your life or work, unsubscribe.
Create a filter
If you don't want to unsubscribe from the newsletter but don't want it to come into your inbox every time either, you can create a filter in Gmail so it automatically skips your inbox. With a filter, you'll know exactly where to find it to read later. (If you're not using Gmail, check your email client's Help section to see if/how to filter your messages. Or, you can sign up for Gmail. Here's my tutorial on that. 
)
Start fresh. Declare bankruptcy.
Oh, and another thing, if your inbox is full of messages and you just can't quite conquer them or you're feeling overwhelmed, consider declaring email bankruptcy (explained in the bonus tips here).
Go ahead. Sometimes there's nothing more liberating than starting with a clean slate. Besides, are you really going to get to all those emails or are they just bogging you down?
I'm always looking for small ways to shave off a few minutes here or there. Because a minute saved is a minute earned, right?
Photo by nicksarebi.
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I've wiped the slate clean several times, and it is SO liberating! I think we all need to step back sometimes and re-evluate our priorities. If it's not benefiting us, then it's time to rethink why we're doing it.
Great and timely advice Amy. I logged on this morning to a whopping 15K plus in my inbox. I simply MUST wipe the slate clean and start a better system! . I'm going to share your post.
As bloggers, we want to participate in the conversation and learn more about things that interest us. But that can definitely get out of control and suck up so much our time. We really need to step back and assess the value of all of the information we have coming our way.
Love the idea of starting off new…so much stuff to dig through!!
Amy, are you reading my mind–or were you spying on me this weekend?! HAHA. My email inboxes were SERIOUSLY bogging me down. I had over 6,000 (UNREAD) messages in my personal and more than 4,000 in my business (blogging, freelance writing work, etc.). It took me several hours, but I zeroed both inboxes out! I created lots of folders (w/ subfolders!) for emails I need/wanted to save–like blog earnings, affiliates (sub folders for each affiliate), the different blogs I contribute to, tax deductions, etc.
You are right. It feels INCREDIBLY liberating!!!
I went backwards on my business account, deleting the oldest messages first, but I figured out a better system once I got to my personal account. I put all the messages in ABC order. That way, old blog posts, newsletter subscriptions, FB notifications (from when I still received those), pinterest notifications (ditto), etc…..I could see them all and just highlight them all and delete, delete, delete!
I do this periodically, and yes, it is liberating. I fell calmer without so many things popping into my inbox.
On the other hand, as a blogger or business person, one is supposed to get people to sign up for all sorts of updates and other things. I don't feel great sending out notifications because I feel like I'm part of the problem.
The fact that most peole don't read the newsletters, see them as an annoyance and want to simply delete them, has really made me hesitant about having a "Subscribe Via Email" option on my blog. I worry that my posts will simply become a nuisance, hindrance, annoyance, or worse a reason for people to ignore my blog altogether. Do you have any thoughts on this, Amy? And, am I correct in seeing that you actually don't have a "Subscribe Via Email" option on your blog?
I'm not Amy, but I'm pretty sure that you can subscribe via e-mail under her little welcome message on the top of the sidebar.
I'm with you though. I rarely subscribe to blogs..I much prefer visiting them "in person."
You're right, you can subscribe right there-how did I miss that!? I much prefer to vist blogs "in person", too, or from a tweet, FB, or Google Reader.
Oh, I have a lot of work to do on this blog. Someday I'm going to actually practice what I preach and make my sign-up form visible. You would not believe all the things I have on my to do list to make this site more user-friendly.
Yes, you can enter your email address in the sidebar in my bio.
I had this issue with google reader. I wasted soooo much time reading blogs that I didn't spend any time on my own blog.
I've gotten really picky about what blogs I add to my google reader.
I'm subscribed via email to your blog, Amy, and I'd have to say it takes balls to send an email to someone's inbox that encourages them to unsubscribe from stuff, hehe =) I'm definitely not unsubscribing from your blog, though, I like you too much.
Love it! I clean my inbox daily using your "Touch it Once" advice. I just unsubscribed to several company ad lists which should help a lot. Now I'm thinking of doing some unsubscribing to my Google Reader blogs list too… Some of those blogs post several times a day and it always makes me feel like I'm too far behind to catch up- I just can't read them all.
I love the (closure) feeling that comes with zapping just-by-habit subscriptions that prove to be low value. Maybe it's time for me to set a reminder on Google Calendar to do it every 6-12 months…
Good idea!
"Less is more" is one of my to-live-by creeds. This reminder is in line with it. Love the (closure) feeling of unsubscribing.
I do this periodically, but set a time a morning to do this the week between Christmas and New Years.
Just went bankrupted! (:
I found out what was going on here through Linda Kinsman's site WAHM. I've gone through my reads a few times. If anyone does not have Subscribe by Email, I don't bother reading their post as all I get to are the emails. People are missing out on subscribers using RSS only.
I feel bad for not getting to the RSS reader hoping I'll use it some day. I've also been the recipient of unsubscribers, wondered why and then remember they might just be house cleaning their subscriptions like me.
Yes, I don't even pay attention to unsubscribers much any more. There's no use getting worked up over it. There could be so many reasons. I just move on.
Glad you stopped by, Donna!
That's one thing I love about GMail; you can just archive the whole shebang without worrying that maybe you trashed something you were supposed to see. At least you can search for an email if you have to.
Yes, love gmail!
Great post – very encouraging – love the idea of a filter (which I've never used, but MUST begin doing so!!!)
Oh yes, filters are wonderful!
I love the declare bankruptcy concept. I actually deleted in excess of 40,000 emails last week and unsubscribed to a huge amount of those I was never looking at! Thanks for the filters tip!!!
I do filter from time to time, one thing I've really been in search of is a reliably service to have all my email accounts connect. I had done threadsy but now they are no longer running as of November 2011. Any suggestions would be so helpful.
Thanks
I love it that I can get all my emails from all addresses in one spot in Gmail. Here's my post on getting started with Gmail.