There are as many definitions of success as there are roads to get there. I’ve become acutely aware that in this transition time with summer ending and fall beginning, there is one consistent thread for me that is grounding and inspiring. It is spending time in nature. As many of you know, I especially love being on or near the water, which is therapeutic, calming, and centering.

Being outdoors allows me to move or be still, think and observe, sense, and capture. It encourages me to feel my way forward.

Maybe it’s too over the top to even say this, but I consider nature’s positive influence to be my number one success hack for my life. Can I really call it a hack? I’m not sure. One of the things I find so inspiring about nature is how change continually happens. For me, as someone that works on being flexible, change isn’t so simple. I’m encouraged when I see a new season boldly pushing forth. In the northeast, as the daylight shortens and the temperatures cool slightly, some leaves are changing colors, others remain bright green, and some have already withered and fallen.

Just like me, nature’s shift is a work in progress. I feel a connection that I, too, am entering a season of change. There will be experiments leading to successes and failures. There will be alterations of plans, goals, and ideas. There will be new opportunities to pursue as I embrace the change of seasons outside and within.

In this short video are places I’ve explored in the last few months that have allowed me to be and to imagine. I hope it inspires you to discover places that speak to you. Make time to rejuvenate and nourish your being. Success will be yours with a more relaxed, focused, and nurtured self.

What are you noticing? What helps you create success? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation!

If you’re anything like me, you might think, “There’s no possible way I’ll ever get to inbox zero.”  Over the years, I’ve read many articles and books and even attended seminars with advice about the value of having zero emails in your inbox. I’ve commented on many posts, “I greatly admire your ability to get to zero and would love to do it myself, but don’t see how I can realistically get there…ever!” I’ve imagined how it might feel to be unencumbered by old emails and an inbox that felt more like a “to-do someday list.”

While I haven’t set all of my 2018 goals in motion or even decided what they will be, one of the goals I committed to this year was my project “inbox zero.” I wanted a fresh start and a clean slate to grow from. With this new goal of “zero” in mind, I was curious if I could achieve it. I also wondered how to make it happen.

So, I set a simple plan in motion. I remembered some advice I learned, which helped me create a doable plan. Using the breaking-down-large-projects-into-small-parts thought process, I set up a few basic rules.

Linda’s Rules for Project Inbox Zero

Set a completion date. I opted to have this done by January 1st. Guess what? That didn’t happen, but it did happen a week later. It’s good to remember that deadlines are great motivators, but be flexible. As it turns out, I needed that extra time to complete my goal. And if I needed more time, I would have made another adjustment.

Create some parameters. With hundreds of emails and decisions to process, I knew I’d need more than a day to get through them. I used small time blocks daily to process the old emails while keeping up with the new ones. The beauty of doing a little bit each day was that decision-making wasn’t overwhelming. If I experienced decision fatigue, I stopped. I aimed for progress, not completion. That kept me motivated and ready for the next email session.

Establish the “dump” buckets. That may seem like an odd term, but it’s what it felt like. Reviewing each email, I decided which “bucket” to “dump” the email or information into. My favorite bucket was the trash. If the email was no longer relevant, I let it go. Another bucket was my “to-do” list. Anything that required action or follow-up got assigned a date on my list to review later. A third bucket was contacts. Some emails required transferring stats or information to my contact system. The other types of emails are related to current or past projects. Those went into archive buckets. These archives are digital folders with specific project or topic category names.

Be Realistic. The most challenging emails to decide about were those I hoped to have done something with someday but hadn’t. I used the “how long I’ve been ignoring this email factor” to determine the likelihood of ever attending to that thing. In most cases, those emails ended up in the “trash” bucket. A few were archived or added to my to-do list. However, I tried to be as realistic as possible before they were kept. The point of achieving inbox zero wasn’t just to empty the box but also to make realistic assessments about the contents.

“Use small time blocks daily to process the old emails while keeping up with the new ones.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

Do it now. Some emails required more immediate action, like signing up for ICD’s new teleclasses. The time needed to complete those tasks was minimal. However, once the task was completed, the email could be deleted. So, I opted to handle any quick action emails right away rather than adding them to my to-do list.

As you’ve figured out by now, with these simple rules in place, I got through hundreds of emails within a few weeks, routed them to their buckets, and arrived at inbox zero. It’s a little strange to see my empty inbox. It looks kind of lonely. I’m still expecting hundreds of messages every time I open the program. Along with the strangeness, I feel liberated with a positive feeling that fresh starts often bring. There’s a certain clarity and focus when attending to the few new ones that pop in.

I’m looking forward to other types of letting go in the coming months. There are papers to shred, files to clear out, and general “stuff” to release. Emails were just the beginning.

What is your relationship to your inbox? Have you struggled with managing email? What works or doesn't work for you? What has your experience been with inbox zero or fresh starts for this year? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation!

It is our dream of what is possible that gives us hope.

When we envision positive outcomes, relationships and lives, we are using possibility thinking. When we let ourselves imagine what is possible, even if we’ve had a history of disappointments, we allow positive energy to enter our thoughts and actions. Dreaming is just as essential as taking action.

Dispense with limiting beliefs and negative self-talk. Instead let positive thoughts infuse your being. Instead of dwelling in what we didn’t do, focus on what we can do. Focus on what is possible. Focus on being creative, flexible, and open to other options. It’s freeing.

What’s possible?