Saturday 7 March 2015

Save Time and Money with One Simple Step

Minimalism is all about removing the unwanted excess from our lives, so that we have the space and time to appreciate and enjoy the good things.  This goes much further than simply physical possessions - they are not the only things which fill our lives and weigh down on us, snatching our time and energy.

One area where I find myself becoming bogged down is my email inbox.  I'm talking about my personal email here, work is a different problem!  The messages pour in from a myriad of sources, for various reasons - sites with which I've got an account sending newsletters, online shops I've bought from trying to tempt me with offers, social media websites notifying me of activity... the list goes on.  Remember when emails used to be electronic 'letters' from friends?  What percentage of your inbox influx consists of those welcome emails these days?  I'm betting it's not high!  And can you even see them for all the junk mail surrounding them?

Unless you monitor and deal with your inbox on a near-constant basis, it quickly gets out of control.  To get it back in shape takes a big chunk of time, weeding out the rubbish to get to the emails you are actually interested in.  Surely we have better things to do?

I find that I lose even more time when I've received a code for money off or free delivery at an online shop - I often can't resist having a look to see if I can take advantage of the saving, and end up trawling the products for something I 'need'.  Buying something, just to save some money... hmmm something's wrong there!  Even though I am trying to reduce clutter and unnecessary items, I still find myself being tempted by this sort of thing - well, the companies wouldn't bother with it if it didn't work!

The answer to all this is ridiculously simple - unsubscribe.  Ruthlessly!

Be honest with yourself - do you really need to receive these emails?  The newsletters, do you read them?  The offers, do you use them?  (Or if you do, should you?)  The social media notfications, can you wait until you log onto the respective account to find out what activity has happened?  Is it that urgent that you need an email telling you about it?  If the emails aren't adding any value to your life, opt out!

I think 'fear of missing out' is a big factor stopping us from taking such a simple step as clicking the unsubscribe button.  I used to get daily emails from deal-of-the-day websites with the latest offers, which I rarely used.  Even though I hadn't purchased one for quite some time, I struggled to bring myself to opt out of their emails in case the perfect deal came along!  As it happens, I often didn't get round to reading the emails while the offer was still running, as they were lost in the mire of my ever-filling inbox.  The only thing I was getting from this subscription was more emails to delete.

Eventually I unsubscribed and I haven't missed them for a second.  It's a case of out of sight, out of mind.  I'm trying to be ruthless with the other emails I receive - if in doubt, unsubscribe.  When registering with new sites, make sure you opt out of receiving emails too.  If you find that you are missing any of them, it's easy to opt back in... but I doubt you will.

Benefits
  • Maintaining your inbox is easier and less time-consuming as there are fewer emails coming in.
  • Less time is wasted rummaging around on website for things you don't need, just to take advantage of an offer.
  • Less money is spent buying things you don't need, just to take advantage of an offer.
  • You are free from yet another task waiting to be tackled, which lightens the load on your mind and helps ease any stress you are feeling.

So, give it a go - unsubscribe and spend the time (and probably money) you'll save doing something fun!