I have come to realise that the world is divided into two groups – those that have messy inboxes and those that don’t. Sadly, I belong to the former group with thousands of unread, deleted or out-of-date mails sitting there waiting patiently to be dealt with. Thousands. I also have the rather unfortunate habit of subscribing to way too many newsletters that end up annoying me each time they pop into my inbox.
Then there’s the distraction factor – I am VERY easily distracted. I will be 100% focussed on a client deadline, see an email pop up that begins with “She places the soap in the microwave, turns it on high, and voila!” And I’m hooked. Before I know it, I am on page 13 of Google, finding out how to scent handmade soap with the eyelashes of Guatemalan butterflies. Or suddenly feeling a very strong urge to alphabetise my spices. It’s not pretty, people.
As part of my Simpler Life journey, I wanted to make every effort to maximise productivity when I’m at my desk. That meant making a PGUL (Proper Grown Up List) at the beginning of my day, beginning with the hardest task and working my way down to the easiest, and staying focussed on the task at hand. This meant placing my phone on silent while busy with Very Important Tasks, and the dreaded sorting out of my inbox!
Three long and torturous hours later, I found myself banging my head on the keyboard sobbing, “Why?Why? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why can’t this be easier?” I had gone through hundreds and hundreds of mails, unsubscribed from hundreds more, and still had thousands left to go. I had also run out of jelly babies.
And then it hit me. A Simpler Life. Look for a simpler way.
Ten minutes later, I found it – Unroll.Me.
