An Empty Inbox

When did you first get an email account?

I was a little late to the technology party.  As far as I can tell it was about 2006.  Since that time my inbox has never been empty.  Some people don't care about stuff like that.  Some people do.

For me, it bothers me not to keep up on my email the same way dishes piling up bothers me.  If I don't keep on top of it, I get overwhelmed.  

I'm good about marking stuff as spam, unsubscribing from unwanted emails, and reading and dealing with "real" emails.  I keep things in my inbox that I currently need to deal with.  

I have tried for years to actually get to the point where my inbox was empty.  I just knew it would feel like a great personal accomplishment, the way having all the dishes done feels like a great accomplishment, lol! 

On December 6, 2023 I finally did it!  I actually dealt with everything in my inbox and emptied it completely for the first time in 17 years!  I was so excited I took a picture!  What a huge accomplishment!  (Silly, I know, but it felt like such a win!)  I went to bed a happy woman.

The next morning I got up and turned on my computer to see if it was still empty.  It wasn't.  14 unread emails!  What?!  After I got over the shock, I started laughing.  It's like dishes.  There's always going to be more.  It's just part of our modern world life.  And that's okay.

Newton's second law states that anything left to itself will move from a state of order to a state of disorder.  

Working with this law takes effort, whether with the dishes, the weeds in the garden, the email inbox, or anything else in life.  Why do we do it?

I don't know about you, but for me order just feels good.  

It feels like I am creating something. 

It feels like I am in charge of my own little world.  

It's easy to get frustrated when you are around others who may be creating chaos faster than you can create order.  Take it from a reforming control freak, trying to keep everything in order is an exercise in frustration, and not worth it, for your sanity and theirs.  

Order takes time and patience.  My order took 17 years to accomplish and that's okay.