Email is distracting. If you can ignore your email program successfully, good for you. And I truly mean that, because I can't. Seeing a new email in my inbox drives me a bit crazy until I find out who it's from. Closing out Gmail doesn't help either. I get all twitchy and open it back up.
Every weekday morning I get up with my kids and try to go through my email, Google Reader and Facebook in the 1 1/2 hours between the time I get up and leave to take my youngest to school. Then as soon as I get home I can write or edit. However I was getting frustrated when I would open Gmail and see that I received close to 20 emails overnight. Many of them are newsletters that I just glance at, if that. At first I would just scan my inbox for any personal or relevant messages and then mark the junk emails as "read". After a few days I got tired of doing that, so I went on an unsubscribe campaign. Instead of ignoring the unneeded emails I took a few seconds to find the unsubscribe link on them. My morning email glut has been cut in half and I'm still at it. Now I have time to actually comment on a few Facebook and blog posts in the morning instead of just bookmarking them to look at in the evening.
Have you done anything recently to help simplify your life?
I unsubscribed to lots of things too and also stopped facebook from notifying me of lots of things.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I have my Facebook account set up so I only get emails for direct messages and upcoming birthdays. It definitely saved a lot of emails from flooding my inbox!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on having to check my email every time I notice there's something in my inbox. I think I need to unsubscribe from a few things to count down on mine.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress
I need to do some of that myself. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteMason - Checking email is definitely an obsession for me.
ReplyDeleteChristine - It's SO nice to see those inbox totals go down.
Good idea about unsubscribing, Janel. I've done that with a couple of e-newsletters that I don't really read. But I also need to get rid of a few more. I'm already into my de-cluttering of my life....cleaned out a couple of closets today and got rid of a ton of clothes I've been hanging onto that I either never wear, wear but don't like the way I look in them, or are the wrong size! How good that feels! I'm still journaling every morning in Mari McCarthy's "27 Days of Journaling...." That's a first for me. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteGood Hint Janel - but I have to admit I can actually ignore email stuff. But, that doesn't mean I don't have other compulsions that I just CAN'T...simplify is something I have been trying to do too.
ReplyDeleteI have started unsubscribing as well. I just get too much in my email and I simply cannot look at everything.
ReplyDeleteHmm... that doesn't sound like a bad idea, I should probably do the same and unsubscribe from a few places.
ReplyDeleteI am doing a pretty good job of ignoring these type of messages however, so I'm (yet) in desperate need of the big cleaning party :P
One thing I've done to simplify my life more recently is not answering e-mails. It makes me look bad when ignoring people, but as much as I want to, by the end of the day I just can't find the energy to do it... and so it gets put off :(
I've unsubscribed to a lot as well, but no, I still have not really done anything to simplify my life. Once I cut out one thing, another seems to follow in its place. Oy!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea, Janel! I need to do this too. :) Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of an un-campaign, eliminating unnecessary clutter from our days. It's amazing how a few simple changes can open up time for the important things in our days.
ReplyDeleteBecky - I need to do my seasonal closet de-clutter too!
ReplyDeleteSharon - So you're one of THOSE people who can ignore emails. :)
Serena - I hate feeling overwhelmed by my inbox.
Estrella - At least you realize you aren't emailing people. I usually forget!
Karen - Sometimes life is kind of like those hollow nesting doll toys. You get rid of one layer and another one, or twenty, is waiting inside.
Bridgid - Glad you liked it!
Joanne - I'm getting so much more writing done when I've cleared my "slate" early in the morning.
Excellent advice for the new year, Janel!
ReplyDeleteI've unsubscribed from several Yahoo groups that I really wasn't getting much out of (other than a clogged inbox).
My biggest problem is getting over the fear that I'm going to miss something if I unsub. It tell myself, "Look. If I haven't gotten any useful information from it in the last six months, then I probably won't miss much if I unsub." Of course, then a little voice in me says back, "If you unsub from that group, then tomorrow they're going to send out the BEST LINK EVER!" LOL.
I need a teeny, tiny hammer to silence those little voices. :)
Brenda - I've thought the same thing. Or maybe I'll win the newsletter subscriber monthly giveaway. Can I borrow that hammer? :)
DeleteI recently unsubscribed from a bunch of newsletters too, and I'm so glad I did! For the longest time I kept thinking, but what if I unsubscribe and then miss something important?? But I realized I never read the dang things anyway so how much could I really miss? It's been such a relief to not have all those messages.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great weekend, Janel! :)
Julie - That's true. If you don't read the stuff anyway you're already missing things. Hope you have a great weekend too!
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