Email | Table for Five

Tackle It Tuesday – Trying to Achieve Inbox Zero

February 15, 2011 By Elizabeth

Tackle It Tuesday posts are usually about getting something done around the house, but I’m using it today to discuss a problem I have that is much, much bigger than just a messy house – my email inboxes. My inboxes are the bane of my existence. Everyone in my family and most of my close friends have, at one time or another, had to listen to me talk about how I cannot get caught up on email. I use Gmail, which lets me create folders to put messages in, or labels to mark what messages in my inbox are for, and I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried.

And to make it worse, I have three Gmails. One for Table for Five, one for MomReviews, and one for MomCooks. Gmail lets me combine all three into one inbox if I want, but with hundreds of messages a day coming into all three, it just got stressful seeing that many messages all in one place!

My ultimate goal is to achieve Inbox Zero. Inbox Zero is the creation of Merlin Mann of 43 Folders, a site about finding the time and attention to do creative work. In 2006, Merlin created the Inbox Zero Series on 43 Folders as a way of “looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way.” A video of a presentation he made at a Google Tech Talk on July 23, 2007 has become internet-famous, and for a good reason – it’s inspiring.

So, when I thought about a Tackle It Tuesday post for today, I knew right away that I not only wanted to write about tackling email, but also DO IT. I’m not going to complete this task today, but I’m going to start today and I’m not going to stop until I’ve learned a way to make Inbox Zero work for me. Not just because I need it for me, but because I’m pretty sure my family and friends would like it if I would just stop complaining about my dang email already

If you tackled a project this week, just add a comment and add your link below.

Here is a fun thumbnail style linky…

Filed Under: Tackle It Tuesday Tagged With: email, five minutes for mom, gmail, Tackle It Tuesday

I Got The Classic Spam Email

August 3, 2010 By Elizabeth

alternate title: What do you think? Should I send her the money?

This lovely email just hit my inbox. The sender is kdubois1@gmail.com, which I’m sure is a totally legitimate email address belong to a real, live person. Because gosh, gmail wouldn’t let spammers get an email address, right? Here’s her urgent plea:

Hello,

I am in a hurry writing you this mail. I traveled to UK wales for an urgent function and i got mugged at a gun point. It was a terrible experience. All cash and credit cards were stolen away from me. I reported to the police they asked me to wait for 2 weeks to carry out investigations. I am totally freaked out here.

Right now, my return flight leaves 24hours from now. I am only telling you this because i do not want you to panic at all. just keep it the way have told you till i return back home.

I am seriously having problems in settling my hotel bills which i have to clear before i can leave the hotel to avoid further embarrassment and to get a taxi down to the airport. Just wondering if you could loan me 2000Pounds to settle my bills and to get a taxi down to the airport. I promise to pay back when i return back home today.

Please you can help me send the money to my name and my present location because i am only left with my passport to pick up the money.

Name: Kate DuBois

Address: Colwyn Bay, Clwyd LL28 4EP UK

Do let me know if you will be going to the western union outlet right now to send the money to my name and my present location and please dont forget to get back to me with the transfer details which is the senders information and the MTCN number.

I await your urgent response.

Thanks so much and sorry to bother you.

Good heavens, that does sound important, doesn’t it? She couldn’t even remember that I live in the UNITED STATES and my money is called DOLLARS. She’s obviously so frazzled she forgot that little detail in her otherwise perfect email.

Just how long has this vacation been, this vacation to UK WALES, that her hotel bill is almost 2000 pounds, which I think is like, a LOT of dollars.

You know I had to Google it.

2000 British Pounds Sterling is equal to 3188.6000 Dollars. Wow, me and this Kate DuBois must be best friends for her to think I just have that much money lying around and her safety is of my utmost concern.

But wait! If her “return flight leaves 24hours from now”, how can she “promise to pay back when i return back home today”? She won’t be home until tomorrow! I know there’s a time zone difference and all, but she can’t come back in time to repay this debt. Can she?

Best of luck, “Kate”. Unfortunately, I suspect that someone in the millions of people you sent this email to will be gullible enough to think that yes, maybe they do know you, and gee whiz, they’d better send you that money right away.

Filed Under: Just For Fun Tagged With: email

What do I have in common with Time Magazine & Oprah?

November 12, 2008 By Elizabeth

We all love the handiest new gadget for keeping up with email, the Peek! TIME.com put out their list of the Best Inventions of 2008, and they have the Peek listed alongside such products as the Wii Fit and the iPod Touch.

And, in the current edition of “O” magazine, Oprah has the Peek on her “O List” of Great Gifts Under $100. What makes the Peek worthy of the attention of TIME and O magazines? The Peek does one thing, and one thing only, and that’s email. It’s not a phone, or a video camera, or a music player, it’s just email. And for me, who gets hundreds of emails a day, having an easy-to-carry device that lets me take advantage of downtime to open, read, and save or delete emails, plus be able to send new ones, the Peek is exactly what I have been needing!

I was extremely fortunate to get an email a few weeks ago from the Peek team asking if I would like to take a look at this hot new gadget. I took a look at the status of my email inboxes and immediately replied ‘oh YES PLEASE’. I received a snazzy red one that looks like the one in this image:

It took just a minute to get it set up to access my Gmail account, and now I just keep it on all the time and every time a new message comes in, a blue envelope icon flashes in the corner of the Peek. I can open, read, save, or delete, plus send new messages.

The Peek costs $99.95, but you can get it at Target right now for just $79.95. Service is a very reasonable $19.95 a month. This would make a GREAT GIFT for someone you know who likes simple gadgets and gets a lot of email. Like me!