I must admit that I have felt rather overwhelmed recently. On Sunday, I decided that my email was simply demanding too much attention!
It seemed as if I was receiving alerts every five minutes. Some were interesting offers. There were low air fares, discounts at stores, menus from restaurants, and so on. There were also newsletters from professional organizations. Many were simply advertisements from people offering professional products and services. Most were somewhat interesting, but they simply seemed to take up too much of my time.
The other problem was distraction. I somehow feel the urge to see what an email is about as soon as it arrives. Even if I’m absorbed in a task, I will open an email. Then it takes a few minutes to start focusing again on the more important task. Thus, an email that should take 30 seconds to read consumes about 10 minutes of otherwise productive time.
So I spent most of Sunday morning removing my name from mailing lists. I also turned off notifications from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Almost immediately, it seemed as if the flood of communications had become more manageable. I suddenly felt less distracted, more able to focus, and, yes, happier.
Why not try it? The feeling of liberation that comes from removing yourself from these lists is actually wonderful!
