I’ve been reading through all your comments and posts on what we’ve covered so far.
Boy, we have a great community here, some really outstanding people and I thank you all for sharing!
Each day, I have been fine-tuning the materials each day to answer as many of your questions as I can.
Two questions keep coming up over and over again and I want to address both for you now.
The first is the feeling of overwhelm that almost everyone seems to be feeling- specifically overwhelm with the quantity of emails they get and the time it takes to read them all.
I almost wasn’t going to share this with you, but there’s a simple solution to this that will easily solve your problem so I felt in good conscience I need to give you this strategy now:
Here’s a powerful way to eliminate much of the sense of “overload” we often feel so you can really focus on completing the tasks in your business that will truly make a difference.
- Get a new email address - I think Google’s Gmail is by far the best email service out there but choose whichever you like. Make this new email address something like MarketingMary@gmail.com or whatever is easy for you to associate with your business.
- Unsubscribe to all the dozens of email lists you are now on and resubscribe to them with that new email address (You might want to remain subscribed to The 10-Day Turnaround in your main account so you get it each day during the 10 Days and don’t miss anything here, and keep all Joshua’s and Tony’s emails in your main account as well)
- Resubscribe to each email list with your new email address
That’s it, you’re done.
- What you’ve just done is create a powerful way to stay focused on your business.
All the emails related to marketing and business-building will come to one single central location for you so you won’t miss a thing.
And you won’t be distracted by having them constantly coming in all day every day while you are trying to get some work done, because…
Your 10-Day Turnaround BUSINESS Creation Experiment for today is…
- Pick ONE HOUR of the week and ONLY open that email address once a week for that single hour. Put that hour on your calendar right now as if it’s an appointment with yourself.
Glance through all the emails during the 1st 15 minutes of that hour; mark the ones that look interesting, delete the rest. Go back and read the ones that interest you and cut yourself off at the end of that single hour. This forces you to learn to prioritize and keeps you focused while preventing you from feeling like you are “missing something” in all the opportunities out there.
That should increase your productivity dramatically as you can then focus exclusively on the actual ACTIVITIES that build your business rather than constantly be distracted by dozens of emails in your in box.
It’s also a great business application of our “Blank Page” concept as it gives your In-Box the “blank page” treatment. 
September 30th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Well……………….Never thought of google gmail as a way to place business endeavors.
Let’s see if I can get a gmail account set up. Thanks for the concept/treatment program.
September 30th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Thanks for the idea. I will apply it..Many thanks for all the insights.
September 30th, 2008 at 5:07 am
My gmail account is bombarded with marketing emails, it’s a chain reaction. You sign up to one list & get valuable information, in that information you are recommend to sign up to someone else list cause they have a product that will help you. So you sign up to that list and then they also recommend you sign up to someone else that has something again that will help, before you know it you have all these great products & email over flow with no time to be productive with any of it. Learning to deal with clutter and been overwhelmed will definitely be helpful. Thanks for the opportunity with this 10 day turnaround course.
September 30th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Great idea - blank page email! While I am unsubscibing to many of these newsletters, I will STAY unsubscribed. That will allow me to actually read my email in one hour a week!
September 30th, 2008 at 7:37 am
I already did this but my new account got overloaded so now I will implement that hour limit and report to you sir!
Sunita
September 30th, 2008 at 8:15 am
OK. I have five email accounts. I have ‘experimented’ with managing my available time with them. Your suggestion is the catalyst I can apply to several of them to give me more efficiency–thank you!
September 30th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Once again life has put me one step ahead , Yesterday my gmail account took a dive, the entire page is inverted and everything looks greek in text. Could not use it and everything was being put in spam folder. I opened a new account on gmail and moved all important accounts to new mail and left unimportant ones in old account waiting for gmail to fix. I was forced to clean up my account by no fault of my own but now I have to deal with spam reports which is not a good thing, hopefully it doesnt hurt me too bad! Has anybody else been through this with Gmail? Tim
September 30th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I opened a g mail account for business only.My Comcast acct. was inundated.I was spending too much time reading e-mails-everyone trying to sell me the “best” opportunity out there.And getting in debt by doing so. We should not spread ourselves too thin so that we fail.I agree that g mail is very efficient and easy to use.thank you/
September 30th, 2008 at 9:51 am
good idea!
September 30th, 2008 at 10:13 am
You are very correct that the email is overwhelming and prevents me doing the more important things related to my business. By the time I get through the email I am tired and don’t feel like doing anything else. I have already started deleting the email and reading only the ones I think will help me. I see who it is from and only then open it otherwise I delete. That way I am less stressed out and try to devote time with my business. The other thing is that I am new to the internet and not familiar with the computer language which is a draw back for me, and slows me down badly. Anyway I am trying. I have to start seriously studying Mary’s Global cash flow and doing what I should really do and not waste time on the emails. Thanks Jeff. I hope you understand my difficulties.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Email…yuk. That’s a biggie alrighty. Exactly one of my biggest problems. Same thing with a cluttered mind that spoils ones ability to focus on all the real issues in ones life. I read somewhere, ‘we are nothing and nothing is everything’! This lesson puts that in a little more perspective. Thank you.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Wow, thanks so much for ALL the information you have given me. I am just starting, and I feel like I am starting on the right foot thanks to you. I have looked forward to each day and I am eager to learn more. Thanks.
September 30th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
This 10 Day Turnaround has been the best program for “getting your head together” that I have ever seen. I feel so good that I have implemented some of your wise advice before being told to do so and will strive to implement the rest. The “email dump” was my first choice to free up my time for more productive things and it’s working quite well (Still working on it and making progress). I still have to discipline myself not to read everything. I never could find the time to post a reply - now I can. I can’t tell you how valuable your “focusing” advice has been. It is so on target for achieving success. Thank you.
September 30th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Overwhelming is an understatement. Most of my emails are about the newest product sponsered by many other people in the industry.. I have over 1000 junk emails which I empty evrey 2nd day. One of these days I’m going to turn the table on all this spam & open every one & send them a link to one of my sites
September 30th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hi Jeff! I’ll try to implement your guideline. Will have to study the concept and go for it. This should save me a lot of time which, in turn, could be using more productively. Thanks!
September 30th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Jeff - As I was reading your tips on managing one’s email accounts, it hit me that unsubscribing (although sometimes it takes a few days for it to actually happen) is a great way to reduce the inbox clutter. As someone cited in their response, once you get on an email distribution list, you literally get passed around and before you know it, you’re being inundated with email offers every single day, with no end in sight. I like the idea of dedicating a single amount of time every week and using that time to review and respond to emails. I use a software program that essentially tells me how I allocate my time across software applications that reside on my computer on a weekly bais. You know what? I’m sure this will not be a surprise, the majority of my time is spent managing my inbox! Not only am I going to unsubscribe to as many sites as possible, but set aside that special time to handle emails. I believe this is a core part of my problem with achieving the level of productivity that by all rights I should be able to achieve on a daily basis. The goal will be to continue to reduce unnecessary clutter and free my plate for the more important and potentially profitable activities. As always, thank you Jeff!
September 30th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Jeff,
I appreciate the great idea. I think for the most part, saying goodbye to most of the list is the best way to get things done. You eventually recognize that everyone wants to sell you something and each something takes up residence in your time. The delete key is an incredible tool. However, I will also use your idea which I’m sure will work very well.
Thanks for the idea.
JoAnn
September 30th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Definately an excellent idea! I think I well get two more accounts, two for business and one for personal stuff. A huge pat on the back for Jeff, I know it’ll work.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I have opened several email accounts under my email provider. That way they are “all in one place” but don’t open unless I click on the account. , Just a suggestion to look at whatever service you are using to find out if you can open more than one mailbox.
We have all become “victims” of the very succesful marketing out there. I am reminded by this program not to fall for the “limited time only” gimmick anymore. Creating scarcity is a very effective tool. A bargain is only a bargain if you implement what you buy. No differnt than buying “3 for$6″ if you really only need one!
I commit to going back to my different email accounts and deleting anything older than a week that I often “save for when I have time”. If I don’t have time now, I certainly am not going to find more buried under all the “later” items. Much like keeping your house clutter-free. If I haven’t looked at it in a month, out it goes! It is very tempting to argue with ourself and say”but what if I need that information later!” I’m learning to say: there’s always a way to find the answers when you need them, like on the internet. This is a hard lesson for me to live by, but it sure feels good to be “pounds lighter” not having all the excess hanging around!
October 1st, 2008 at 4:55 pm
That is a great idea. I recently did open a new email account for my business. I think that will work. I do like the idea of only spending an hour a week on the stuff I missed. I think that is a great idea. I think I may need to do a little more then that at first, but then 1 hour a week. MAX.
October 1st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Great idea! Yes we are overcome with all the e-mail we get today from so many sources. The 1 hour per week idea is the right fix for this problem. Keep up the good work.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Woo Hoo! Jeff, this is incredibly powerful stuff… Not only financial, but mental, emotional and environmental Freedom in ten easy lessons!