We’ve all been there at the airport check-in desk. You’re watching the digital scale climb higher and higher, sweating slightly as you realize those “essential” extra pairs of shoes have pushed your suitcase into the “Oversized” category.

You end up desperately trying to zip it shut while a queue of annoyed travellers watches you perform a low-budget wrestling match with your luggage.

Well, we’ve been seeing a lot of “overpacked” email accounts lately.

I’ve been helping several clients recently whose emails has simply stopped “syncing” — basically, the computer and the server have had a falling out and are no longer on speaking terms.

Usually, the fix is easy – delete the account and add it back in.

But here’s the kicker. Because many of us have been hoarding emails for years, the computer has to “re-download” every single ancient email and attachment.

I’ve seen some accounts take three days or more to pull all that data back down.

The “Inbox Diet” Strategy: If you want your email to run like a world-class athlete instead of a bogged-down tractor, here are a few “shuffles” to lighten the load…

The “Touch it Once” Rule: When an email lands, decide its fate. If it’s junk, kill it. If you keep every “20% off pizza” coupon or other similar emails from the year 2000 “just in case,” you’re eventually going to have a very heavy digital backpack.

Evict the Attachments: If you regularly get cute photos of pets or family members, which are around 5 – 10MB each, save it to your computer. And once it’s safe on your computer, delete the email. Your inbox doesn’t have to be a storage unit!

Send a “Postcard” instead of a “Parcel”: Instead of attaching a massive file to an email, try sending a link using Dropbox or OneDrive. It’s instant, and it keeps your mailbox (and your recipient’s!) lean.

Why bother?
By keeping your mailbox “match-fit,” if you ever do need to reset your email account, the process will take minutes instead of a long weekend. You’ll be back up and running before your tea has even gone cold.

If your inbox feels like a “hoarders” episode and you’d like some help trimming it down to a manageable size, just get in touch.