Cleaning out the Inbox

I've got my email set up so that it gets handled pretty well. I've created various folders for different lists I subscribe to, generally have a folder going for each active client, and stay on top of things for the most part. I also have a folder for newsletters (actually several, one of business interests, one for cooking, etc.) and I have the rules set up to throw the newsletters in automatically, like I do with the mailing list emails. I've learned it's better to NOT filter and move other email though so that I have to read it and deal with it at some level before it disappears from my Inbox.

The newsletter folder was becoming unwieldy though, filled with unread newsletters. I just didn't have the time to read them all, but I didn't want to unsubscribe either. I decided the other day the odds of my going back and reading the old newsletters was pretty slim. So I deleted them all. New ones are coming in again, of course, but it's a bit refreshing to not see over 200 unread messages in the system!

One newsletter I do invariably read is David Allen's Productivity Principles. They're usually a quick read and leave you motivated to stay on top of things.