5 easy ways to get your inbox to zero

I'm constantly striving to have my unread emails total 0. It happens every day, but it takes daily upkeep. Here are five ways to make it easier to keep those unread emails at bay:

1. Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe. Anytime you find yourself deleting or archiving a newsletter or advertisement without opening it, take two seconds, open it and scroll to the bottom where there will be an unsubscribe link. Sometimes it's clearer than others where to click, but doing so and following whatever prompts appear will stop those types of emails from landing in your inbox in the first place.
2. Filter. You might want to keep statement notices, certain newsletters or list serve digests for future reference or reading, but you don't want them cluttering up your inbox until then. Set up a filter to label them and have them skip your inbox and go straight to a folder for later.
3. Post something like "No need to respond" at the bottoms of emails you send out that really don't require a response. 
4. Belong to a Yahoo Group or other list serves? Consider setting up a filter (#2) or switching your membership to a daily or weekly digest of email instead of receiving every message as it gets posted.
5. Turn off or reduce email notifications on your social networking sites liked LinkedIn or Goodreads. Do you really need to be notified about what your friends are reading every day or week? If you cared, you'd be on the sites and interacting there.

Do yourself a favor and stop your email overload before it starts, and getting to inbox zero will be much more achievable.

Software updates

How often do you download and install software updates on your computer? Most operating systems make it easy as clicking a button to set this process in motion, and they will remind you when critical updates are needed. Some software has to be manually updated. But if you are using a computer, you need to do the software updates. Don't think of it as optional. This is mandatory maintenance.

I find people are resistant to updating for one or more of a few reasons: they think it will take too long, they don't think it's necessary for their programs to run, or they are afraid that updating will do some harm to their program or their computer. In general, software updates are essential for keeping a machine running efficiently, and any time spent downloading and installing updates (which can usually be done in the background while you work on other things) is minuscule compared to the time you may spend if you find yourself losing speed and functionality by using outdated software.

So get in the habit if clicking Yes! when asked if you would like to perform software updates now. Update early, and update often.

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Things I love about Apple

Things I love about Apple products:

• They boot up quickly
• They look nice
• Hard drives are easy to navigate
• The way things look on screens is beautiful
• There's less after-market software and hardware, so to find products and solutions you don't have to wade through a million similar products
• Buying products from the Apple store is generally a satisfying experience: lots of helpful people who want to get you into the right product and will find the answer to any question you might have, and I love that you can buy from anyone anywhere in the store
• Apple programs I like: Pages, Numbers, Bento, iCal, Preview, Stickies

Things I don't love about Apple products:

• Their mice are not robust. I use a Microsoft mouse with a hearty scroll wheel.
• Apple programs I don't like: iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie
• That's all I can think of...

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Elegy for a sticky note

Over the weekend, I lost something very dear to me. I won't bore you with the chain of events that led to the demise of all of my Stickies, but on Saturday morning, I started my computer and they were all gone. Just gone, in an instant. When I realized this, I wasn't hit with a wave of panic or regret at not having backed them up (though I wish I had). It was more like a sense of emptiness, of loss. The information on my dozen or so notes wasn't entirely irreplaceable. Sure, I had a running list of usernames and passwords on one note that I'll miss, and a list of interesting names that I turn to when writing, but those can be rebuilt. Rather, I was struck by the loss of my to do list, and how odd it felt to be on my computer without that touchstone of orderly tasks and ideas waiting for me to visit, to delete and add, to bold and highlight.

I've already started rebuilding my stickies. They are a really useful tool. I mourn for my lost information, but I look to the future and know I'll be okay.

If you also use Stickies, don't forget to include them in your regular back up. From Wikipedia:
Backup data: Stickies keeps all information in a self-contained database. The database can be backed up by copying the file StickiesDatabase which is located in a user's Library directory (i.e. ~/Library/StickiesDatabase)

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Shortcuts

If you are on your computer a lot (and who among us isn't?) you can use keyboard and mouse shortcuts to streamline repetitive tasks and save yourself a few seconds here or there. These conveniences really add up to time and energy saved.

There are lots and lots of these, plus ones you can customize for yourself. Here are the ones I use most frequently on my Mac:

• Middle mouse button: click on a link and it opens in a new tab. Click the tab and it closes. Huge timesaver! (If you do not have an external mouse or a mouse with three buttons, get one immediately.)
• Command L: selects whatever is in your url bar. I use this in combination with copy (command c)  and paste (command v) all the time.
• Command R: refreshes the browser page you are on, much easier than getting your mouse up the refresh button on the toolbar.
• Command M: minimizes your browser window. If I have a lot of open windows, this one saves me from having to click in the little x at the top left.
• Command S: always a good one when you are in a word processing document. Even though most programs automatically save frequently now, you can avoid trouble by assiduously saving your work.
• Command Z: undo! This is one of the most important shortcuts there is, and it works in a variety of situations. I love using it when I'm composing an email in Gmail. It also astounds me how many people are not aware of it! Learn it, use it, love it. 

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Tiny tech time saving tips

Here are some very quick ideas that can save you a bit of time here and there on your computer. If you find yourself spending a lot of time doing the same thing over and over, take a second to check in with the process and see if there is something you can do to automate it a little bit.

I like Firefox, too.

• Program your email provider to automatically include a signature with your contact information so you don't have to type your phone number, website, Twitter username or blog url over and over again.
• If security isn't an issue, use a web browser that offers to save your username and passwords and use that feature.
• Put your most frequently visited sites as shortcuts in a browser toolbar.
• Take advantage of autofill. Let your computer and browser earn its keep by guessing what you are typing, and when they get it right, press enter instead of typing out the word or address all the way.
• If you have new people visiting your home or business frequently, type up a thorough set of directions and save it as a pdf that you can attach in an email. Don't forget to include the full address including zip code so they can map it if they want. If you have a particularly difficult to find location, take a screenshot of it on Google Maps and annotate it with a program like Skitch if necessary.
• Use the search function on your computer to find missing files. Saving files with names that actually describe the contents will help a lot.
• Make sure your Internet connection is the fastest possible for your area.

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by laihiu

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com