Find more time in your day, Tip #4: sign off lists you’re not interested in

If you’ve been hanging around the Internet for a while, learning how to do this, that or the other, you’ve probably popped your email address (and maybe your name) in a couple of boxes.

And, voila, you’re on somebody’s list, getting all sorts of email messages from them.

You may have wanted a specific product they offered or some booklet sounded great because it was a topic you were interested in. Over time, you find yourself thinking “oh, I’ll read that, I’d better hold onto it” or “that sounds like something I could use” or “oh whee, some free stuff, I like free!”

No matter why you first signed up, it is a good idea to review what you’re getting at least once per quarter if not monthly.

By law, all marketers who have subscription-based lists are required to have an unsubscribe option somewhere in the message. It is often found waaaaaaaaaay down at the bottom of the message in light gray type. Be sure the tool you’re using to collect email addresses has this option.

1. Make a list of the current lists you’re on or the people you’re following who send you messages
2. Realistically, honestly, yes, even brutally, look at them and decide whether the information they’re sharing is what you need NOW
3. If you’re getting good information that helps you grow your business, mark it as “keep”
4. If you’re NOT getting information you need now, or the messages distract you, mark it as “unsubscribe”
5. Open your email reader, and search for a message from the first one you want to unsubscribe from
6. Look for the word/button Unsubscribe
7. Click the link and unsubscribe
8. Repeat for the other lists you want to unsubscribe from
9. Look for a message from one of the folks you want to keep getting information from (subscribe to) and automatically filter those messages into a folder with the correct label (see Tip #2: prioritize your emails)
10. Set the messages to go into the correct folder automatically
11. Repeat for the other items marked “keep”
12. Optional: create new rules or unsubscribe as new messages arrive in your inbasket
13. Review your subscriptions at least once a quarter, if not monthly!

1. Pick ONE (and only ONE) time saving tip to work on for the next week
2. Share your favorite ways to find more time in your day in the comments below
3. Help others get more time in their day by sharing this post (Tweet This!)