At the beginning of 2018, I shared in this column my resolution to get my email under control. I promised to let you know how I did so here is my report.
I would love to tell you that my resolve to enter 2019 with a manageable number of emails in my inbox was a shining success. Unfortunately, that would not be true.
As is the case with many good intentions, sometimes life and other priorities get in the way. I'm sure most of you can relate; just try to make headway on any project and see how many times you're interrupted or have to handle something with a more urgent deadline.
Now that's not to say that I didn't make some measurable progress. It just wasn't to the extent that I hoped for.
I started off well and built up some nice momentum early in the year. I used several techniques that were suggested as ways to not allow email to dominate so much of a workday.
Without giving any raw numbers—sorry, I'm too embarrassed to share that data—I made some impressive strides. I kept a bit of a running scorecard, and by the last week of March, my inbox contained only 45 percent of the total emails it did when I started. I was pretty proud at this point.
But then spring travel season for expos, conventions and conferences started, and the total started to creep back up. Throw in one of my biggest annual work projects and some summer vacation time, and by the end of July, I had 60 percent of the number of messages as when I started.
From there it's been a lot of treading water, so to speak. As I write this, my inbox total is almost identical to what it was at the end of July. And considering that I receive 1,000-plus emails a week on average, that means I've dealt with tens of thousands of emails over that time period.
So I'm not going to beat myself up too bad. But this year, I'll stick to something easy. Maybe reaching my goal weight.