3 Tips to Purging Your Email and Your Mind

If you're anything like me, you're probably subscribed to a gazillion blogs and accumulate lots of articles. Now is a great time to clear out the old and make way for the new. My email needs serious editing, but how do I decide what to keep and what to delete forever? Here are some tips:

1.  Have I learned the lesson? Keeping 27 blog posts on social media might be overkill. If you've mastered Facebook, know how to navigate Goodreads, and tweet with the best of them, you can safely hit the delete key. Besides, all you need to do is plug the subject into a search engine to bring them back to life.

2.  Does this email require a response? If so, get it out of the way, so you can remove it from your to-do list.

3.  Is this information I'll need down the road? I do a number of guest posts and interviews throughout the year. They're scheduled way in advance, so I need to hang onto the emails with interview questions, guidelines, and contact names/addresses. These are keepers!

Another kind of computer needs some purging - our minds. A challenging year required changes in the way I do things and how I move forward. Funny, when I got those two words as my focus for the year, it never occurred to me they were preparation for a tough time. Some of the issues moved through like a brief rainstorm, while others lingered for months.

1.  Snowstorms and car issues. Record snowfall in 2014 meant parking difficulties, getting stuck, and greater wear and tear on my 14-year-old vehicle. With the 2015 winter season already making promises for a wild ride, I've made some decisions.

The car died, so when considering replacement I purchased an all-wheel drive model with an excellent reputation for reliability. It's also smaller, which might help with the parking situation. I can't stop the snow from falling, but I'm better prepared for it.

2.  Life messing up my plans. Sweetie Mom's broken hip threw my schedule out the window for a good four months. At times like this, I go into crisis mode and deal with each thing as it comes along. Our families take priority over our neat plans. By God's grace, we get through these times.

3.  Regrets. Did I handle everything right this year? No. I made my share of mistakes, but the Word tells us to repent from - not regret them. Regret wastes time and energy, while repentance wipes the slate clean.

Writers:  Do you have any writing issues that nag at you? What are you doing to resolve them?

Readers: Do you deal with computer clutter? How do you decide what to toss and what to keep?

Photo Credit:  sraburton