Dear Cathy and Clare
I am increasingly worried about the size of my Inbox. I am almost
embarrassed to admit this but it currently has 6,207 items dating from
way back September 2003 (and that doesn't even include 'Archived
Folders'). Tom Kyte (who I admire and respect greatly) likes to keep
everything in its place, spic and spotlessly span and currently has a
single item sitting in his
Inbox. And his
finger is poised over the 'Delete' button to expunge that one too !
A very organised chap, who knows all about GTD,
recommends creating a
brand new shiny, empty folder called 'DMZ' and moving all the 6,207
messages into there. Apparently, this single action will produce the
illusion of an empty Inbox, produce an enormous sense of well being and
contentment (well until the next email arrives in 12 seconds), help me
feel better about myself, shed two stones overnight, make friends and
influence people, lift a massive psychological burden from my shoulders,
help me to get things done, focus on the key objectives for 2006 and
finally get that long awaited promotion.
However, I am a little reluctant to trust someone masquerading under the
name of '43 Folders'. If he is so clever, why does he even need 43
folders and, more to the point, how many messages are in each one ?
Enquiring minds want to know. Also, simply dumping my beloved email
archives into a demilitarised zone would fill me with guilt. I would
hate to think of all those technical nuggets, match reports, humorous
anecdotes, sizable attachments, funny photos, jokes, customer
testimonials (I am sure there is one buried in there) and managerial
approvals that would be sitting unloved in the 'DMZ' folder.
In my heart, I know that I really should put aside four days to review
all of those 6,207 messages and treat them appropriately. Most could be
deleted, some would merit moving into a dedicated folder, that one from
last summer about ergonomics in the workplace might look nice printed
out and pinned above my desk and a minuscule rump would be left to help
me get focused on what is really important in my life and genuinely
needs to get done.
However, if I were to set the time aside doing this administrative task,
I simply wouldn't be able to get anything done.
As Joseph Heller once said: 'There was only one catch and that was catch
22'
Disorganised of London
PS. The count has now increased to 6,213