This article was originally published in The Simplifier #76.

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Article: To Conquer Your Inbox, Become an Email Shape-Shifter

By Shawn Tuttle

Does this describe you?

• Your email inbox is at zero several times a week.
• You quickly find reference emails on demand.
• You open most emails once, and only once.

If so, congratulations! Your email management system is totally dialed in!
If not - if your email inbox is at 1,000 messages and multiplying - keep reading…

You know the old saying about what would happen if you put a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand typewriters, right? They’d fill your email inbox with a bunch of useless crap every day! ;) Seriously, though, it’s a good thing that’s not happening, since your inbox is probably already overflowing so bad that you’re considering renting a sump pump. You’re not alone…which is why I made sure this article isn’t just another simple listing of email management “best practices” from the leading productivity experts.

Don’t worry—you’ll get your tips. “Best practices” are called that for a reason, and I’ll definitely review some of them. What I don’t want to see happen, though, is for you to read the below list of pointers, and nod or shake your head a couple of times and then think: “This wouldn’t work for my situation; how could they possibly know how crazy my email situation really is?” and then continue in your pattern of feeling overwhelmed by your email.

We’re going to spend a little time in Why-Land to explore how your perspective and intention is so important regarding email. I really want you to get serious about getting control of your inbox—because this is a life or death situation.

Consider the danger
Well, your life isn’t in danger—but your life’s dreams are. If a dream were a person, she’d be a sensitive, shy little kid who needs your encouragement and support. She retreats from lack of attention. She needs to be coaxed out of her shell and shown that she can rely on your commitment, that she can trust you to take care of her. When you provide her with a positive and supportive environment, she thrives.

But how does an out-of-control inbox affect your dream cultivation? Repeatedly sifting through your inbox takes time. High numbers of emails feels weighty, and the thought of clearing them all out can make you feel overwhelmed and provides plentiful excuses for procrastination. Seeing defeat pass over clients’ faces when asked about their email situation, to me, says it all.

Getting the picture? Being victimized by “out of control” email is detrimental to your psyche. Are unmanageable emails worth feeling bad for? No! Are they worth sacrificing your dreams for? No!

Shift your approach to email
Merlin Mann used this apt metaphor as a comment on how many people lose sight of their purpose: your job is to make sandwiches, not to continually re-stack the orders.

Losing sight of what’s important causes more than inefficiency. There’s so much more at stake!

For too many people, email has become a growing, cancerous mass invading effectiveness and morale. If your situation were out of control because you chose, instead, to spend more time writing your novel, I’d be more compassionate. But the truth is, the culprits are usually indecision, laziness, and/or lack of systems. And even though you’re in charge of these things, paradoxically, they can leave you feeling the victim.

Instead, choose to be the ER doctor who deftly wields the laser to zap those emails with focus and precision. Those little messages aren’t going to get out of control on your watch! You know that the health of your patient is at risk. You are fully capable of handling the situation and do so with a few clicks of the keyboard.

Shift how you think of the inbox
To look at this from the (non-digital) “real world” perspective, pretend you have a store that sells CDs. You are in charge of dealing with the boxes that UPS drops off on a daily basis. Do you leave all boxes in the “incoming” pile and expect customers to just find what they want? Not if you want to keep your customers happy. Instead, you unpack the boxes, sort the contents, and then do a set of actions that gets the CDs to the next step of their existence. You might sort by: special orders, current hits, and regular stock.

- Special orders then require your to call the customer.
- Current hits need to be integrated into a “current hits” display.
- Regular stock needs to be sorted by genre and put out on the shelves.

Does this mean that you are going to perform each of the above actions as soon as you open each box? No. You’ll unpack the boxes, sort the CDs, breakdown the boxes, and then decide which is most important to do or delegate first based on what the rest of the day looks like, who’s on the floor, etc.

I’m describing a lot of people in different scenarios in this article. (more…)

The seventy-sixth issue of the Project Simplify newsletter The Simplifier is now archived on our newsletter archives page.

Here is a brief summary of the contents:

1. A Note From Shawn
Sharing ideas, sharing office space
2. Our Featured Quote
by Merlin Mann
3. Article: To Conquer Your Inbox, Become an Email Shape-Shifter
by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle
4. Your Simplification Tip
Dealing With Inbox Danglers
5. In the News
The sentimental factor; Stress Management; and Control clutter as soon as you walk in
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
Like the gentle rain…
7. Keep Smiling
Relevant Elephants

Read the full issue here.
Subscribe to The Simplifier here.
[posted by Lance]

Yup, it seems to be about that time to hop on board. Our solopreneurs group got together today to talk about internet marketing. While our group had a nice, open ping pong style chat about local marketing ideas last month, this one’s format was very different. Basically, two folks (Paul and Vanessa Smith)  who have been on the train for a while did the talking and the rest of us took copious notes.

The first two things I’m going to explore are Twitter and Stumble Upon.

Once I get profiles up and running, I’ll share here on the blog. I’m looking forward to meeting more like-minded folks interested in the simplify train!

A couple of weeks ago I attended a one day silent meditation retreat. Oh, Chatterbrain, how diligent thou art! The day was challenging in that most of the time I didn’t really feel like I was meditating as much as just trying to shut the ole noggin up.

Even so, I’m looking back on the last two weeks and realize that I’ve been feeling the effects of a steadier mind. How enjoyable! I felt calm, in good-humor, free of anxiety, and constant in my progress on current goals. I’m noticing this now because it’s beginning to fade… Hence the work of a meditation practice–one time just doesn’t do it. Oh schwell.

Our delightful meditation teacher, Patt Lind-Kyle, sent around this reminder today:
Remember: Breath is not only the cause of life; it brings about quality of living, too. As is the breath, so is the mind, and as is the mind, so is the person.

Just the reminder I needed today. Thanks, Patt!

As if this wasn’t reminder enough to keep the mind reigned in, my yoga teacher read this quote from Gandhi yesterday:

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors.
Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits.
Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.

Wonderful words from a remarkable man.

This tip was originally published in The Simplifier #75.

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Living a Ding-Free Life

Does your  *Ding!* email program urgently inform *Ding!* you that you’ve just received another *Ding!* email?

Isn’t that annoying?

While some urgent projects demand instant replies via email, the truth is, more often than not, that unexpected “Ding! You’ve got mail!” is more of a distraction than a help for your work flow. It pulls your attention away from what you are doing, and ultimately makes you work harder. While each “checking of the ding” seems a tiny incident, the cumulative effect is larger than you think. Every time your focus gets snatched away by a new shiny thing, you have to wrestle it back to your previous train of thought.

If you use an email client like Outlook or Entourage (or any program that lets you control if and how often it retrieves email), try this experiment: for one week, turn off automatic e-mail retrieval. Even if you think this won’t make much of a difference, give it a try. Making yourself deliberately check email in this way helps decrease gratuitous browsing–one of the more evil time sucks during your work day.

When you decide it’s time to zap your email, go ahead and click the receive button. (What I mean by zapping the inbox in this instance is making Inbox Zero your goal.)

One other option is that if you determine that you need to check email once an hour or every two hours, you can change the notification accordingly so that the new mail is ready and waiting for you (but not pecking at you every ten minutes). Hopefully, you’ll keep the notification turned off, and just check your email when you need to check it.

Whichever method you use to turn the tables on your email dinger, just remember that you are in charge of your email, not the other way around!

This interview was originally published in The Simplifier #75.

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Interview: Jesse Locks, Countercultural Multi-Doer

By Shawn Tuttle

While I was on the Board of the Nevada City Downtown Association, Jesse Locks and two other principals of the Nevada City Film Festival approached the organization for sponsorship. I was very impressed with Jesse—she led the presentation, which was thorough and interesting, and she had anticipated all of the questions the board might have. Unlike most of the other projects we’d sponsored, she came back after the event to give us a report on how it had gone. When our paths crossed again at Ladyfest Nevada County, which she had co-organized, it was clear—time to get to know her better!

Her professional life has revolved around freelance writing, marketing and publicity for publications such as Seattle Weekly, a skateboard, snowboard, and music magazine called Heckler, and a women’s magazine based in Chicago called Venus Zine. She was one of the founders of the bi-monthly counterculture magazine Arthur and helped launch the Grass Roots Record Company. Throw in some independent marketing work for Tylenol’s OUCH! Campaign and Toyota’s launch of Yaris, and Business Development for Nevada City Film Festival and you get a pretty good idea of how skilled this woman is! (For a full write-up of her professional adventures, click here.)

Jesse Locks
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ST: You’ve achieved impressive accomplishments in an impressive variety of settings, especially for your age–you are 28-29 years old? What do you feel the variety has set you up for?

Jesse Locks: Thanks for thinking so.  I’ve always been a doer.  I like to connect people with one another and make things happen.  I like to entertain, teach, and inspire people, be it through a written story or an event that I’ve organized.  I think being involved in several different areas or industries has opened up more possibilities for me.  My skill set doesn’t fit nicely into one box, but rather several, and because of that, I’m able to communicate with more people in a variety of industries and actually know what I’m talking about.  There is never a dull day for me.

ST: We talked a bit about needing to be resourceful, flexible, and even humble to make a living here in Nevada County. These are such required attributes for success these days, but too much can dilute one’s efforts to the point of becoming amorphous. How do you see yourself maintaining your effectiveness and your power in the midst of a shifting economy?

Locks: I’m not above anything.  Sometimes painting a house or doing yard work is much needed respite.  It’s definitely a challenge to stay organized and focused when there are so many different things on my plate.  You’d be surprised, I actually say no to a lot.  This summer I was having a hard time though and sought the help of a professional.  I meet with Nancy Shanteau who is a Skills for Change Coach every other week and she helps me keep my eye on the prize.  I also carry around a copy of the first story I wrote in third grade to remind myself that first and foremost I’m a writer, even if I’m taking my sweet time in writing the next American classic.

ST: Do you see a connection between your love of gardening/sustainability and your position as a community builder (in the sense of where they root in yourself)?

Locks: Absolutely.  As a Master Gardener, I work with Nevada County on their Compost program.  Composting is one of the easiest and most basic things we can do in helping the environment and lessening our carbon foot print, but it is the gateway to changing many of our bad habits and creating awareness.  It teaches us about how much food we actually consume versus throw away, how long it takes for that food to be grown, how precious that food is, and how amazing the people who grow that food are.  That way of thinking leads us to think less about ourselves and more about our community and our place in the community.  And seeing it first hand makes it so much easier for me to write about gardening and sustainability for magazines.

ST: Not everyone who has a great idea can bring it to fruition. How do you decide which projects you’d like to participate in? I’m thinking about the NC Film Festival, Ladyfest, the record company…

Locks: I decide to work on projects based on the team either in place or being cultivated.  With the members of the team I look for good communication, common goals, positive attitudes, creative vision, and if I’m going to learn something from the experience.  If all these seem to be in alignment, I’m usually guaranteed success and a meaningful experience.

ST: Your energy is so positive and friendly… You seem like you’d be great fun to work with. What ticks your stress button and how do you manage in those times?

Locks: Thanks, I do make a conscious effort to try to stay upbeat and surround myself with only positive people.  Negative thinking doesn’t accomplish anything except in making people miserable.  The only time I stress out about something is usually over money.  Most of the people I’ve worked with will tell you that I rarely lose my cool.  I have a lot of patience, and that comes from keeping everything in perspective, money included.  I don’t allow other people’s stress to effect me either.  I can’t, stress leads to burn out, and I have so many more things I want to do, that I have to keep myself healthy.  And in the world of freelance or contract work, feast and famine is part of it so you learn how to weather both.  I also get a lot of sleep and talk to my parents every day to alleviate stress.

ST: Any final thoughts along these lines?

Locks: I’m sure some people might read this interview and be overwhelmed, I know I am.  But when you are in the trenches working on something or some things you really love and believe in, it’s not overwhelming at all, it’s fun and exciting.
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Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.