I just performed a long-overdue purge of 1,300* unread messages in my business email inbox. The oldest message was from Mar. 28, 2013–nine months ago!
Our lives leave fewer and fewer meaningful artifacts in a digital era. We live extremely public–albeit staged–lives on social networks and blogs, but our email correspondence is where our real thoughts and feelings are revealed. For those of us of a certain generation, our email records will tell the story of our deeds long after we are gone.
Pouring over the unchecked gnarl was both exhilarating, nerve-wracking and affirming experience. The journey of an entrepreneur never ends, but the email trail of the last year is proof of just how far I’ve traveled. And how much I’ve matured, too.
While there are too many Square receipts and email newsletters to count, fewer than 50 emails are of any real importance. Sad, maybe.
The real insight in these 50 or fewer emails is from interactions with clients, potential partners, podcast guests, and other freelancers. Just seeing certain names is enough to trigger emotion.
Celebrations of client wins, deals that fell through partnership opportunities, and dozens upon dozens of coffee meetings.
Individually they are nothing. In sum they are evidence of massive progress.
While I wish I could immortalize certain emails, and erase others, in today’s world, they add up to who I am, and who I am becoming.
I don’t recommend you clear out 1,300 emails from your inbox–unless you absolutely must–but if you do, you’ll be shocked, awed and amazed at what it can teach you about yourself.
*In case you’re wondering, I have a backup copy of every work email sent to my personal Gmail account. I normally check and respond from one inbox, but rarely delete the copy created and saved in my Google Apps account.