Tuesday 20 January 2015

You Have Successfully Unsubscribed

Well, hopefully not to this!

I’m not one to make New Year resolutions, and in hindsight the quest to rid my inbox of unwanted email merely coincided with it being the start of a new year rather than it being a declaration to begin 2015 differently. I know how it began, this quest to keep my Inbox down to the precious few: being away from mail for a number of days where all those vouchers I signed up for and all those contests to sun in Montenegro or explore St Petersburg were stacking up among the important stuff. And oh how easy it is just to click Delete and watch it disappear off the screen, momentarily forgetting that there will be yet another fantastic sale or two-for-one offer in the next month. Or next week. Delete, delete!

Ah but for a few extra clicks I can Ctrl End to the bottom of the screen, scan for the Unsubscribe link, click, verify address, and click again. Some sites want one more verification, to be absolutely sure I don’t want to know about how to nurture my inner beauty, where to enjoy a 2 for 1 pizza, or learn the five “must see” health resources.

Are six clicks better than one? You betcha. And since the beginning of the year I have been (almost always dutifully) following the six-step programme to rid myself of unwanted flab in my Inbox. What’s there now can’t yet be archived, probably requires a response or some activity on my part, or acts as a gentle reminder of upcoming events, etc.

My Google mail Inbox, conveniently bucketed by my friends there into Primary, Social, and Promotion, which contain 32, 2, and 3 items respectively. The promotional emails are all from Prevention Today (and about exercises), and the two Social items are from LinkedIn—people I want to respond to in the future. The Primary mailbox is a mish-mash of things I need to get to, things I want to be reminded of, and an odd assortment of recipes and links to products I might like to buy someday when I’m finished papering the offices of the British government with pounds collected for various and sundry visas, certificates, etc.

Speaking of which, I have saved the appropriate fee and have made my appointment with a nationality checking service (for a much smaller fee of £55) to have my application for citizenship reviewed by someone at the local council, who will verify all the original papers—including Tim’s and my passports—and allow me to leave with them while the Home Office decides whether or not I am an upstanding enough person to be given the privilege of citizenship. Time will tell . . . they allow themselves up to six months to decide, though I suspect that I will find myself voting in the May election. Exciting times!


And, with my tidier inbox, well, I’ll see all the emails that come in about the progress of my application! Oh, wait, they don’t actually do that; Royal Mail will have to do. I think I will start anticipating the postman’s drop about mid-March, and hope that by St Patrick’s Day I’ll be invited to the ceremony (for which there is a small fee).