So up there is the screenshot of my Gmail inbox. Looks good, eh?

As long as we don’t click on any of thsoe pesky folders in the sidebar, all will be fine.

How is it possible to have 644 emails in a folder that is for mail that should be answered within 24 hours? These are people who need answers. But it all takes so much time.

I’m kicking myself for not keeping up with the email. Where did I go wrong? How did I get so messed up?

As I pondered this pathetic situation last week, I realized that my email has never been right since I read up on a new system for handling email. It was to be my salvation. I needed only to delete folders, the email guru told me.

I had so many folders. I had mail filtering into so many nooks and crannies, and once tucked away, it was easy for me to ignore it. So I decided to delete some folders. I was going to work with three folders: My inbox where mail would be opened and answered if I could answer in under two minutes; a folder that said “today,” which would be for mail that took me longer than two minutes to answer; and a folder that said “wait” for mail that could wait a few days. All things would be answered within one week and then archived.

Brilliant!

But when I deleted a couple of folders, the mail from those folders, instead of coming into my inbox, was shuffled straight to the archive. Then, I had to search for it in “All Mail” which was worse than the original folders! I tried to get the folders back—and the mail—but I couldn’t. And that’s when I really started hating Gmail. Things weren’t right. My Gmail was broken. I went into a state of denial and began avoiding my inbox as much as possible.

Last week, I had to have a “Come to Jesus” moment. Had to repent of my inbox avoidance and cry out for mercy. There were over 2000 emails sitting there demanding that I have an intervention for myself.

So I went through and deleted what I could. And that is when I discovered that there were over 650 people waiting for me to answer them. (And that didn’t include my queries, which were in a different Gmail account altogether!)

Instead of jumping right in and answering, I moved from denial to blame shifting. I reasoned that it was all Gmail’s fault, and I spent several hours trying to configure Outlook, in a vain attempt to divorce Gmail over incompatible differences.

After many hours of begging Outlook to date me and my domain email, I realized that divorcing one email program for another was folly. I’d end up with the same broken relationship because I’d be taking myself into the shiny, new Outlook program.

And that is when I hit on a brilliant idea. I didn’t need a new email program. I needed an incentive to answer my emails. I needed hope. I needed to visualize the reward of being an inbox-clutter-free person.

So I hung a new, clean inbox in front of myself, much like dieters will hang skinny pictures on their refrigerators.

I made a brand new Gmail account. Here it is:   
Isn’t that gorgeous? I made my own background. Put the clock in there and the phrase “Coram Deo” to remind myself that I live every minute before the face of God and my time is not to be spent in denial, but rather in doing the work he gives me to do each day.

And look at how pristine it is! No emails. None. Nada. Zip. I love it so much I can hardly stand it.

I spent the weekend digging into those emails in the old, ugly inboxes–over 750 of them, when you count the queries—and after answering a few, I’d see that I still had over 740 and I flick open the new Gmail account and think about how pretty it is and how satisfying it will be to have no emails hanging over my head.

I’m at 697 today—woo hoo!—and pushing on. (Unfortunately, people do insist on writing each day so I get rid of 20 and 30 more come in, but I’m deleting like a demon!) I would love to be at “inbox zero” by the end of this week. Maybe I won’t make it, even though I’m working on it full time. But for sure this month.

For sure and certain this month.

Absolutely this month.

Prayers appreciated.