Last week, while sifting through my email, I decided to clear out the corresponding electronic accretion. I get more than a hundred emails a day (that's a literal hundred, not a metaphorical hundred) most of them advertising, some lists, not including what gets screened out by the junk and spam filters. Even though I have the settings such that I see "Important" emails in a separate stream, still, things I really want to see sometimes didn't get recognized, which left me paging through the detritus in search of pearls. Which sometimes I missed.
I started clicking "unsubscribe." Five minutes here, ten minutes there. I kept a list. Whew. I think I can survive without seeing "Congratulations on your 1580th Mention!" (about my academic papers) or hearing from one company three times a day about what's on sale. Click here to unsubscribe. There are more than 75 companies and lists I'm no longer hearing from - or will no longer hear from once they update their lists (seriously, only ever few weeks?).
It's been like opening the windows and doors to get a draft moving, there is space for the spirit to blow through.
Irritations. Unsubscribes that ask you to check which email you used. Unsubscribes that take you through multiple screens to be "sure" you want off. Notes saying it might take a few weeks to update your preferences.
I will be interested in the success you have (or not) with unsubscribing. My own experience with that is while I may stop one sender two or three more pop up in its place. I won't name names, but suffice it to say there are some companies I won't buy from on principle.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the "it takes us two weeks to remove you." Does that really mean that they hope in two weeks I've forgotten and just keep sending emails?
DeleteI've gotten more draconian about making sure I'm not subscribed to a company email list when I buy something, which I'm hoping helps, but I'm curious, too, if my total email goes down significantly or not.
Stay vigilant and persistent. Because I have moved so often in my life and career, I have had the opportunity and blessing to pare down to essentials every few years. The last collection to escape my purges was my library. But now, even my books are restricted to those I want to read or re-read. Others have found good homes, elsewhere. Good luck with your sorting and organizing.
ReplyDelete