[Saanil]

Originally Posted by SDP

Thanks chennai-Indian and Lalvaz.
---------------------------------------------
Being an email slave:

Which mail service do you use? Well we use Outlook in our office and we can put a setting to put mails from selected senders into a particular folder. For Ex: I know important mails can come only from 3 people, so I make three separate folders for them so that when I get a mail from them it does not get lost between other less important mails. Ofcourse for this you will have to identify who are the spammers and who are not. Segregation of incoming mails is inportant. I always deal with client requests first and when I am done with them I go through the other folders to see if anything is worth reading.

[fiery enzyme]

Originally Posted by SDP

Thanks chennai-Indian and Lalvaz.
---------------------------------------------
Being an email slave:

This happens to me quite often. Some of the e-mails that I receive during the day, I don't get to work on them during the day and I keep them unread. So there would be some which I haven't read at all and there would be some which I have seen and marked them as unread so that I can tackle the matter latter. Over a week or two, my inbox starts showing 500+ unread messages and tension starts building up. Many a times, just the thought that I have SO MANY things to attend to causes "paralysis" in the morning and more messages/to-do's pile up.

So yesterday, as part of reclaiming, kept a few hours aside and cleared up the mailbox. Brought it down from 800 odd to 17 by 7:00 PM yesterday. Felt relieved. Did not check mails after reaching home or early in the morning today. Was quite upbeat while heading to work today. Reached office, logged in and the inbox showed 68 unread mails.

I can not just chase emails, because in that case significant portion of the day gets spent in reading mails and no 'real' work gets done. I see a lot of such "email-slaves" around, who believe that clearing their mailbox 'is' the work that they get paid for . I don't want to be one of them.

Anyways, looks like defeating the email demon is going to take much more than one marathon session of cleaning up the mailbox.

I used to face the same problem. Here is what I did, I realised most of these emails were more than a 10 days old, that is some action has already been taken or it is too late. So what I did is I moved all the emails to another folder called "to be sorted" from my inbox. I started focussing on the new emails. Whenever I get a few minutes, I would sort my old emails everyday.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by SDP

Friends, inviting your views on another aspect.
When you plan to inculcate a new habit like going for a 30 minute walk/jog everyday, you typically start with a goal in mind: let's say reducing 5 KGs in 10 months to reach the ideal weight for your height and build. The doubt that I have is when you reach the goal, do you stop the 30 minute walk/jog?

......

How do you run your initiatives/transformation-journeys? Please share your views and experiences.

On the two aspects that you mention:

- Firstly you cannot stop what you started. If after reduction in weight, you stop your daily regimen, body would get back.
However the flip side is, you wont continue to lose weight either! Your body would have adjusted to an optimal set of BMR
(basal metabolic rate) based on your walking regimen. So now you would need to walk to maintain, your reduced body mass.

- For transformation journey if you can find a like minded companion its even better. You can walk much more without feeling tired,
if you keep chatting with some one. That also would help vent out negativity from the vicissitudes of daily life. Good to have a friend
rather than a family member. (But who should also be equally committed for the regular walk/jog etc).

[SDP]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

find out who is sending you these mails and ask them to consolidate.

Thanks Vivek. That's a brilliant suggestion. Just 2 days back, I have asked my team to keep me on BCC if at all they want me to keep informed. I have told them rather than every step of the transaction, I would like to know only the final result and challenges (if any) they are facing.

Originally Posted by Saanil

Which mail service do you use? Well we use Outlook in our office and we can put a setting to put mails from selected senders into a particular folder. For Ex: I know important mails can come only from 3 people, so I make three separate folders for them so that when I get a mail from them it does not get lost between other less important mails. Ofcourse for this you will have to identify who are the spammers and who are not. Segregation of incoming mails is inportant. I always deal with client requests first and when I am done with them I go through the other folders to see if anything is worth reading.

Saanil, Thanks. I use LotusNotes and I have configured that mails from 6 important people get automatically colour-coded when they appear in my inbox. Across these 6, the daily count is around 25. These are the ones that I anyway clear. I am trying to simplify the remaining clutter. I am relatively new in my current role. Planning to delegate a whole bunch of things to a few chosen people over the next week and redirect the corresponding mail-traffic.

Originally Posted by fiery enzyme

I used to face the same problem. Here is what I did, I realised most of these emails were more than a 10 days old, that is some action has already been taken or it is too late. So what I did is I moved all the emails to another folder called "to be sorted" from my inbox. I started focussing on the new emails. Whenever I get a few minutes, I would sort my old emails everyday.

Fiery_enzyme, Thanks. Even I ruthlessly archive anything that is more than 2 weeks old, whether read or not read.

Originally Posted by ampere

On the two aspects that you mention:

- Firstly you cannot stop what you started. If after reduction in weight, you stop your daily regimen, body would get back.
However the flip side is, you wont continue to lose weight either! Your body would have adjusted to an optimal set of BMR
(basal metabolic rate) based on your walking regimen. So now you would need to walk to maintain, your reduced body mass.

- For transformation journey if you can find a like minded companion its even better. You can walk much more without feeling tired,
if you keep chatting with some one. That also would help vent out negativity from the vicissitudes of daily life. Good to have a friend
rather than a family member. (But who should also be equally committed for the regular walk/jog etc).

I would agree, Ampere! Once you reach the equilibrium, visible results are going to vanish and its all going to be about maintenance. May be at this point, one should rephrase the goal from "reducing from x to y" to "maintaining y +- 1kg". Thank you!

[SDP]

Update for last week:

1. Went for brisk-walk and jog on all 7 days in last week.
2. Saturday, my 7 year son joined me for the walk. I had to change my speed so that he could keep up. Had a small chat with him (about his first crush at school ). Did not walk for 1.5kms, but I do not mind. The time spent with the kido was well worth it. Covered up the week's quota by going for a walk on Sunday.
3. On Thursday, attended a one hour meditation session at work.

From 1st Dec, I am planning to pickup another "Important but not urgent" thing in a slow and steady fashion. Would put up more details about the background and the plan in a separate post soon.

[pradipk]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

1. Transform breakfast. If you are vegetarian, have corn flakes (please no kellogs) with milk and may be two toast brown bread without any additives. Forget Milk and sugar. Have Green Tea and if you like it sweet try honey.

Hey what else if not kellogs? I do eat them in breakfast and tried some other alternatives of local brand but they were worst. I don't recall the brand name but both were disappointment. Also, what's wrong with kellogs? Nothing to relate with branding but just curious as you specifically mentioned no to it.

Thanks,
Pradip.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by SDP

Thanks chennai-Indian and Lalvaz.
---------------------------------------------
Being an email slave:

LOL. I have 1K+ unread emails in my inbox. But it does not bother me. The ones that need follow up, i mark them for followup using that red flag thingy.
I do occasional cleanups when i get some time. But thats more of a timepass activity than anything else.

[pravingmh]

@SDP, excellent thread. You should surely find lots and lots of people with similar predicaments.

I read through the first two posts but lost footing when you went into the Covey caverns and FB labyrinths

I get the picture that you have an unshakeable routine on weekdays and on weekends you shake off all routine. And now as a countermeasure, you are trying to have a further regimented life with well drawn plans for weight loss and family life.

If that is indeed true, then dont you think that in your mind you actually want to let go and that is why your weekends end up with lazing around. Me thinks you need less of regimentation than more of it, less of planning than more of it. Letting go is perhaps the need of the moment.

My offbeat suggestion to you is to dive into an engaging hobby or interest. Be it reading up extensively, documentaries, writing, painting. Anything to take your mind off the numbing tasks and go for pleasurable tasks. It would be prudent to not make this very regimented either

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by amitoj

LOL. I have 1K+ unread emails in my inbox. But it does not bother me. The ones that need follow up, i mark them for followup using that red flag thingy.
I do occasional cleanups when i get some time. But thats more of a timepass activity than anything else.

usually i'm not the kind to keep the mailbox cluttered (neatly put the email in the respective folders in the PST), but a week back i had around 550 emails in my mailbox! since i was on holiday/WFH, i used to time to clean up my mailbox and brought it down to just five emails. i was overjoyed.

today i've already got 223 mails and rising

coffee anyone

[vivekiny2k]

I have said earlier in this forum in a similar context, try to use Pareto's rule of 80-20. Do not spend 80% of time trying to clean up last 20% of your mess. I never aim to hit a 100% cleanliness/orderliness, it can become an obsession.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by pradipk

Hey what else if not kellogs? I do eat them in breakfast and tried some other alternatives of local brand but they were worst. I don't recall the brand name but both were disappointment. Also, what's wrong with kellogs? Nothing to relate with branding but just curious as you specifically mentioned no to it.

Thanks,
Pradip.

Most branded corn flakes are so highly processed with various preservatives and other chemicals, the original nutritional values are all lost. Hence try some thing that is the least processed. Kellogs with its various flavours and taste is the worse. Actually any processed food is bad.

Cheers

[DrRom]

Dear SDP

Whatever we did was all there was to have been done.

DrRom

[SDP]

Originally Posted by pravingmh

@SDP, excellent thread. You should surely find lots and lots of people with similar predicaments.

I read through the first two posts but lost footing when you went into the Covey caverns and FB labyrinths

I get the picture that you have an unshakeable routine on weekdays and on weekends you shake off all routine. And now as a countermeasure, you are trying to have a further regimented life with well drawn plans for weight loss and family life.

If that is indeed true, then dont you think that in your mind you actually want to let go and that is why your weekends end up with lazing around. Me thinks you need less of regimentation than more of it, less of planning than more of it. Letting go is perhaps the need of the moment.

My offbeat suggestion to you is to dive into an engaging hobby or interest. Be it reading up extensively, documentaries, writing, painting. Anything to take your mind off the numbing tasks and go for pleasurable tasks. It would be prudent to not make this very regimented either

A very offbeat point of view indeed. About hobbies, I do love travelling (driving) and photography. I look forward to such outings and the energy boost that it gives lasts about a week's time after returning.

I agree : letting go is the need of the moment. The unfortunate thing is that I am letting go the wrong things instead of the right things. This whole reclaiming exercise is to get the priorities straight AND "act" as per those priorities every day, every week.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

I have said earlier in this forum in a similar context, try to use Pareto's rule of 80-20. Do not spend 80% of time trying to clean up last 20% of your mess. I never aim to hit a 100% cleanliness/orderliness, it can become an obsession.

Vivek, I have also learnt it the hard way. Sometimes being a perfectionist gets you nowhere. Bringing it to an "acceptable" level makes a lot of sense and is much less effort. Thank you!

Originally Posted by DrRom

Dear SDP

Whatever we did was all there was to have been done.

DrRom

That is one of the most cryptic one liner I have ever come across.
Care to elaborate?

[pravingmh]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

usually i'm not the kind to keep the mailbox cluttered (neatly put the email in the respective folders in the PST), but a week back i had around 550 emails in my mailbox! since i was on holiday/WFH, i used to time to clean up my mailbox and brought it down to just five emails. i was overjoyed.

today i've already got 223 mails and rising

coffee anyone

Let go of the email sorting and use search. Allow the software to be the email slave.

And another way to attend to emails is never reply to CCed emails. Emails longer than 200 words, trash them.