I Accidentally Deleted All of My Emails And Why I Would Do It Again
You wouldn’t believe what I learned.
Like many people, I have become a digital hoarder over the years. In some cases, I still have emails from over 15 years ago. Over time, these digital artifacts add up.
I have a half dozen email accounts… which means I have tens of thousands of emails that I’ve been accumulating for far too long. It’s much easier to defend this type of hoarding since no physical objects are being stored.
A few weeks ago, I accidentally deleted every single email in one of my email accounts. We’re talking *thousands* of emails. This was due to technical confusion mixed with user error. I won’t get into the details of how this happened, but if I had been paying attention I could’ve restored those emails within 7 days due to the way my email account empties its trash. But, I didn’t.
And I’m so glad I didn’t.
My initial reaction upon discovering this blunder was a mixture of fear, shame, guilt, and complete panic. A few days later, it turned into relief.
From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change.
-Marie Kondo
