I did something crazy a few days ago.

I opened up my email inbox, full of nearly a decade of personal and business correspondence that I’d been saving (for what? a rainy day?). I clicked “Select All.” My cursor hovered for just a second over the “Archive” link. I closed my eyes. I clicked it.

Just like that, my inbox was empty, clean, clear, a blank slate.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I know that the emails weren’t completely gone. I can do a search to pull something up if I really need to, which offers me peace of mind. But I also don’t have to look at thousands (nearly 20,000!!!) of old emails every time I look to see if I have a new message.

It. Feels. SO. Good! I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to do it.

The whole scenario reminded me of how amazing it feels to be in a yoga class, in my body, forgetting (at least for a moment) about everything else that might be going on in my life. The to-do lists, the overwhelm, and the noise don’t go away because I decide not to focus on them for a bit. Like my old emails, they’re still there whenever I decide to pick them up again. It’s just that once I realize I can let them go for even just a few minutes, I begin to see that life really does go on. I see how much lighter and more at ease I am without all that “stuff” hanging over my head. It’s very much like clearing out all of the clutter in your inbox. And, knowing you’re in complete control of what you bring back into your head, and how you’ll organize it the next go around is incredibly empowering.

Old habits die hard. So, there’s a good chance I’ll eventually let my emails build up again. (And, really, does anyone really learn to permanently let go of their life clutter because they took one particularly great yoga class? Nah.) But here’s the best part! Now, I know exactly what to do the next time I’m overwhelmed with my email (or my life).

I have the power to hit the Archive button, and so do you.