Tame Your Email (Now That You're Retired)

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You get a lot of email related to your work and career -- email lists, publications, PR lists, associations. Now that you're retiring, it's time to clean it up.

Otherwise you'll still be getting a hundred emails a day, but they won't be relevant. Or, frankly, all that interesting, the further away from retirement day you get.

Bummer! Well -- on the OTHER hand, you will now have time for a lot of the kinds of emails of much more interest to you in your newly retired persona: Emails from friends, from and about hobbies, linking you to social-network sites you never had time to pay attention to before.

STEP 1: CUT/PRUNE/SLICE MERCILESSLY
If you have mixed feelings about leaving your old job, this step may be a bit painful. It emphasizes the change. If you are ready (more than ready!) to lay down your load, however, this can be a refreshing, stimulating step, and a relief!

For your work email, in the month or two before you retire, start by unsubscribing from mailing lists you know you soon won't need -- this will be mainly emails you get from trade publications and the like. You won't be needing to keep up on this stuff; you will soon have better things to do.

[BUT! If you plan to keep one foot in the water -- freelancing or consulting with your old company or in the industry -- you'll be more selective about what you chop. And the lists you want to stay on, change them to your home email address!]

When you've done this first cutting step, your mailbox may lighten up considerably. It's surprising how much info comes to you through that email window!

You may also have to let clients or agencies and other relationships know you'll be taking off, and handing them over to somebody else, if that's appropriate. (Or hint to them that you'll still be doing some consulting/contract/freelance business in the future, hint hint hint.)

This might also be the time to create a general-purpose retirement announcement, ready for your last few days, when you can send it out to everybody else -- colleagues, partners, more distant clients, providers, and just buddies. Expect to get a lot of feedback from this emailing -- you might want to have a more detailed boilerplate response to the inevitable "Whatcha gonna do now, buddy?" replies.

When you get home, do a similar hack job on the no-longer-needed email lists you're on at your home email address.

STEP 2: SIGN UP EXTRAVAGANTLY
Well, that's a relief! Now let's turn around and sign up for a bunch of stuff -- but this time, it's stuff revolving around your new life! You probably have an idea of several Web sites, magazines, clubs, interest groups, maybe social networks, schools, entertainment venues, and other activities that will now be able to get more of your attention -- so make a master list and start signing up for new stuff. Pretty soon your mailbox (both email and postal) will start filling up with great ideas for things to do.

STEP 3: LATER, PRUNE IT BACK A BIT
If you're at all like me, you will go 'way overboard with Step 2. But that's OK -- you're testing your wings, trying the air currents, seeing what you like and what was actually a pain in the neck now that you have time to take a closer look at it. So put on your calendar, right now, a date six months or a year from now -- that's the date you will REVIEW all your lists, mailing lists, clubs, groups, and activities -- and plan to cut back on the ones you're not interested in. This is what you can expect when you are in Exploration Mode, which is where you'll be for the initial part of your retired life. Check it out -- cut it off if you don't like it. Learn, choose, learn some more.

And then do it again in a couple of years. Keep the email box supple and flexible, not bogged down with dumb stuff you skip right over!