Did you catch my recent post on how Feng Shui aids in wellness? Well, today we’re going to talk about how to feng shui another very important aspect of your life: your inbox.

According to this book, tidying up can work wonders on your state of mind. And while the author is largely referring to physical clutter, in today’s world clutter can be intangible as well. That’s why you may feel a sense of unease every time you open your Facebook newsfeed or see unread notifications on your iPhone. Eeek!

I know, I know—you think you can’t be saved and have to resort to the fact that your inbox will always have 1,000+ messages (largely consisting of spam, email chains with your college friends from 10 years ago, or work emails that are no longer significant) and that a truly organized inbox is out of reach. Not so!

Challenge: Take control of your inbox.

A simple trick of the trade? Read it and delete it. By implementing this very easy rule, your inbox–whether work or personal–will be looking organized in no time.

On top of that, try these tips:

Purge

• If you have pages of unread emails (most likely promotional emails, expired coupons, and the like) go through and “Select All” and just hit delete. Do this until you’re at a point when you’re no longer comfy just deleting.
• For the recurring marketing emails you never want to see again, take the time to unsubscribe first. Unrollme.com helps majorily FYI.

File (yes, file)

• This is when you’ll need to go through emails individually and decide what you want to file or keep in your inbox. If you don’t have folders set up already, set some up.
• At work, folders may consist of one for each client you work with. At home, these folders may be things like Future Plans, Shopping or Home. Some may want to keep it basic, while others may want to get down to the nitty gritty. Do you. Once you’ve read each email and decide you want to keep it, file it away in its proper place.
• Only keep emails in your inbox that need your direct attention. This way, it becomes almost a to-do list of sorts and gives your brain space for other things that take more focus. After you’ve done what you need to do (reply and file, reply and delete, just delete), you can rest easy knowing your inbox is a little bit lighter.

A clean inbox is a happy inbox, am I right? What are your tips for keeping your inbox in tip-top shape?

p.s. the black pad under my computer is a radiation protector- a full post to come on that soon!

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