Tips for climbing envelope mountain - how to open the mail when you've been procrastinating
So many people procrastinate about opening their post. Unfortunately, unlike email, where the passive-aggressive little “unread” number just ticks higher, actual mail takes up space in your home, so eventually you have to deal with it one way or another. (It’s probably a good idea to do something about those emails too, but that’s a problem for another day.)
There are many reasons why unopened envelopes build up. Some people are in debt and are avoiding scary overdue payment letters. Some people are neurodivergent and letter-opening is a chore they tend to avoid. Some people are just busy and keep putting it off until they realise there are several week’s unopened mail and possible something important is lost inside that may need a response.
Now, I have to confess, I have many unhelpful financial habits, but I do generally stay on top of my post and my emails. That said, I’ve helped others with this and I’ve completed tasks I didn’t want to do enough times to have some useful tips.
If you want to tackle your envelope mountain, but the thought feels very overwhelming, here is my gentle guide to getting it done.
Paper can’t bite!
This sounds funny, but our bodies respond to anything we perceive as an emotional threat as if it were a physical threat. Adrenaline and cortisol flooding your system to help you fight or run away will not help you make wise, long term choices about your admin and organisation.
Remind yourself you are not about to fight a crocodile. You are simply dealing with some bits of paper.
What’s more, many people have a tendency to catastrophise about the unknown. There’s a reason that horror movies often don’t show us the monster. What we imagine is so often worse than reality. Once you know what is real, you can deal with it. Until you know, you can’t.
The mountain is actually a molehill.
90% of your post is unnecessary guff and when you open it you’ll find it can go straight in the recycling. It’s either advertising, or duplicates or it’s out of date. There is so much less here to deal with than you expect.
Get a buddy
Do you know anyone else who might have tedious life admin to do? Could you buddy up and do it at the same time? It doesn’t have to be in-person. As long as you’re working at the same time and checking in periodically via a video call or text messages, that will give you a boost. The key is to know that someone else is also tackling their crap at the same time you’re tackling yours. Misery love company and it can help you stay focused and push through when you know someone else is doing the same.
Regulate your nervous system and get in a positive frame of mind
Stretch your shoulders out, jump around a bit, walk around the block, take a few deep breaths and release them slowly. Make a hot drink. Put on some inspiring music. Speak kindly to yourself. You’re not a stupid, lazy, idiot who’s bad at being an adult and can’t even be trusted to open their post. You are an imperfect human like all the other imperfect humans. What’s past is past and what matters are the choices you make now. You are going to open this post because doing so will make your life better and you deserve a better life. It’s time to show yourself love and care by removing this source of stress from your home.
You can open mail and not read it.
Try that! Open your mail and sort it by sender without actually reading the contents.
Take breaks if you need to
Stand up and stretch at intervals. Get a breath of fresh air. It’s ok not to just blast through in a single sitting. (Of course, if you get into a flow or you’re neurodivergent and become hyperfocused, go with it!)
You may want to try the Pomodoro Technique of using a timer to measure out bursts of intense activity (typically 20-25min) with short breaks (3-5min) in between.
You can organise and still not read
Once your post is sorted by sender, sort each sender pile into date order. You still ddont’ have to read the contents.
Start an action list
As you sort the mail you’re going to come across items that need responses or other actions on your part, so it’s a good idea to be ready to make a list of actions as you sort. Grab your favourite notetaking tool whether that’s digital notes, voice notes or old fashioned pen and paper and be ready to capture whatever comes out when you actually begin to read what you’ve been sent.
Have your containers for sorted mail ready
Have a container for the mail you don’t need to keep ready to hand. You may have a shredder, in which case have that nearby and emptied ready to go. That said, it’s common to have too much to put through before a domestic shredder will become filled up and overheated. It’s wise to have a sack or two to contain the mail you intend to shred/recycle/throw out.
You should also have a couple of files for the mail you need to keep. One for mail you want to keep but may have no immediate actions like statements or updated legal terms, another for letters that require action. If you don’t have files, large envelopes will do. Even a couple of bulldog clips to keep like items together is better than just plopping them in a pile.
Begin where it’s easiest
Which letters do you feel most neutral about reading? If there are any letters that you think you will enjoy reading, try saving those for last, as a reward. However if there is a sender about which you feel entirely neutral, this are a good place to start.
As you read the most recent letter from this sender, ask yourself if you need to take any action. Do you have to keep the letter? Is it a statement of account, a legal notification or similar? Or is it just marketing or other useless information? If you don’t have to keep it, shred it and/or recycle it straight away. If there’s an action, add the action to the list and file the letter in the action file. If you just need to keep it, pop it in the “to keep” file, ready to be filed properly later.
If there are duplicate letters for the same action, just keep the most recent and discard the rest.
Celebrate the small wins
Celebrate every time you finish a sender pile. Dab. Do a goofy dance. Strut around like Freddie Mercury singing “We will rock you”. Play air guitar. Give yourself a high five. Whatever will make this process feel just a little lighter and give you a moment to recognise all the work you’ve done, do it!
Go at your own pace
If you’d rather blast through everything in one sitting and be done with it all, go for it. If you’d rather break it into blocks and do some today and some another time, that’s good too. If you choose the latter, I’d suggest actually picking a time and putting it in your calendar as half-completed jobs have a tendency to linger if you don’t set a time for them.
Either way, remember to be kind to yourself as you go. You’re doing this because having a pile of unopened post is stressful and you deserve a life free of stress. You deserve to have the information you need to deal with any issues that arise and not be ambushed by them. That is what you are achieving by opening your post. Well done. I’m proud of you.
If you’d like me to help you get rid of your envelope mountain, pop a time into my calendar and we can work out a plan of action to get those papers sorted and gone.