Sunday, November 20, 2011

Lost in email

I had to come up for air..I was being swallowed alive by emails.  They were calling my name..demanding attention and organization.  Do you remember this..where is that info?

I was born in September..us Virgos like to be in control of everything around us and we will micro manage everything that we can..if we have enough time. 

I have three email accounts to manage..two of my own and one for the museum. Not everything can be saved nor should it be.

At the museum I often print out important emails… and I printed out a list of all of the museums email contacts!!  Yes..I am organized!

Over the summer I got a little behind in my personal email..in one account I had over 500 emails.  I had to send out a couple of apologies..and an inquiry or two or three.  I still have 80 messages in that account..progress..but still not completely organized. 

Last June when I got a new computer I could no longer use Outlook Express so I called our Internet Provider and went to Live Mail.  Did you know that  they can take over your computer remotely and move your mouse around and click here and there and get it all set up in just a few minutes.  I did not know that anything like that was possible and I am sure I sat here at the computer with my jaw dropped very near my keyboard. Anyways I lost every email address I had..and I had not backed them up or printed them out.  Who knew?   I got caught up on that email the hard way by losing it all.  Not organized.

I make folders for important stuff and after I read something I folder it or delete it..unless I just need it for a short time before it is deleted..it is that short time that gets me behind. I suppose it all depends on what your definition of a short time is..days ..weeks..months.

I do not allow the snail mail junk mail to stack up at home..I love my shredder..now if I could just use that same mentality with my email.   How do you handle your email?  Do you have any helpful hints to help control email?

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The snow has not melted yet:(

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22 comments:

Rita said...

You sound pretty darn organized to me!

My jaw would have dropped, too, if somebody was moving things about remotely while I watched. What a world, eh? I am always being amazed by new technology. I love it! I may not understand how to use it...but I love it! ;)

LindaG said...

Now keeping in mind that it would take me several months to collect 500 emails, I make word documents for much of what I want to remember. (Some day I need to organize that. My organization falls way behind.)

And then, like the other day when I realized I had email from May on my computer, I deleted everything older than September. I don't know why I keep everything that long.
I just let it collect and then periodically delete it. :)

Rae said...

You are well liked and popular if you are getting that many emails! I get way too much spam and not so much personal email. Most of mine gets deleted immediately.

rkbsnana said...

I, like you, am more organized at the office than home. And email does get out of hand quickly. I have no suggestions...so probably should not comment, except to offer empathy.
Our central office tech staff take over my computer from time to time. They think it is easier to do it themselves than to tell me. (I have to let them in tho')

Laura said...

If I don't take care of my emails very quickly they will accumulate. Then I'll forget something important. I try to take care of them right away. Read and either delete, move to another folder, or answer. I just did a big clean up in my main email (my other two get forwarded to this one). It felt so good!

Jan said...

My email is out of control! Over 2000 emails in my in box. No matter what I do it still piles up. I'm the kind that can't delete unless I've read everything. Help!

DJan said...

I read them daily, save some (not sure why) and delete the vast majority of them. Of course, with gmail even if I delete it, it's retrievable again. But why would I want to? In all these years I haven't had a need.

I like a nice clean inbox with folders for those I feel a need to save. Otherwise it might get out of hand! :-)

Nancy said...

Thanks for the reminder to print out an email address list for my accounts. I have three - one for family, one for online friends, and another strictly for ordering. I would be lost without my contact lists.

Jeannelle said...

A shredder for email, what a clever thought! I've watched as my computer cursor was operated remotely by someone else during a set-up...VERY weird!

laurie said...

the amount of email we get is astounding. did we have this much communication before? did we get that much mail, or that many phone calls? i think not. so why so many emails?

Leah said...

I may have to hire you to take care of my work mail (I often get put in email jail and can't email out) :) - you sound pretty organized! My work email can get 4-500 emails in a day or two when I am away from my desk - Ugh! I use the personal folders - highly recommended!

Karen said...

There's a delete button...? LOL.
I don't seem to delete anything:(
So yeah, there's over 7000 emails in my inbox and sent items. A lot of it is conversation between myself and my sister, which I consider a sort of diary, so want to keep. Of course I haven't backed it up either:(
I did start going through and deleting old stuff, but need to get back on track with that.
You sound like a very organized person, unlike me.

Linda said...

My one true hint about wayward email........deal with it EVERY day. If I leave it for more that three.....i'm screwed:( One thing with Livemail is that you can "spam" a certain one and you don't get it anymore.

RURAL said...

When you sit there and watch them move that curser around, it's so tempting to just jump in, that I have to sit on my hands for a few minutes. Kind of like being in grade school again.

I get a lot of email, and I love my gmail, all of my 5 email address's come to one box, and I can sort it from there. I am ruthless with the delete button, if it's not super important, it goes away.


Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Patsy said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carolynn Anctil said...

Wow...and I thought I was organized. *smile*

So nice to have you visit my place today and leave such a lovely note. It's very exciting to share a similar dream with Jen of living in the country and it's pretty wild to see those dreams unfold for both of us, so close together. I'm really looking forward to having her as a neighbour.

Blessings,
Carolynn

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

I've been underwater, too. I just realized last night that I've ignored my blissed-out grandma account, which has a couple of messages from you! Will get back to you on that. It really does take daily attention, a lot of deleting, and some foldering.

Red said...

I should get you to organize my email. Mostly just get rid of stuff.
I've had people set up stuff for me. It's kinda cool to watch the arrow move across the screen and I have my hands in my pockets.

Lynda said...

I have no suggestions for email handling because I am not good about it...... told myself I would take 5 mins a day to tackle it - - - - but don't. Just generally attack it like you are - - - after it's been there a while.

Lanny said...

They never offer to do that for me! The remote thing that is, they always make me be the one to do it and ask what to do next. Personally I think they like to hear the names I can come up with for things, and they're probably eating a donut while talking to me.

I'm not even gonna touch the organized thing or the timey thing. I'm dealing with a new personal time management system at the moment.

L. D. said...

The school wants me to hook up to their email system again but I am not too excited to have to maintain that one too. It doesn't help to have a wife's cousin forward every cute thing she receives. I go through and delete her daily. My wife spam's her.

Pamela said...

THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU TO BACK UP YOUR DATA. Those remote fools. (:


When I switched computers and gave up Outlook and went to Live .. we backed up that stuff. BUT I hate Live. I prefer my Outlook 10 to 1.