Quiet Time
I am in serious need of some quiet time. Despite my big plans to slow down in 2012, I feel like I have sped up. I need to follow Laura Fenemore’s advice and listen to what my body is saying. I’m sitting here at home, on this holiday weekend, with a sore throat. I am exhausted. I decided I am going to hibernate this weekend and recover. I’m also going to take some time to reflect on what is really important to me. I’m starting with clearing out the clutter in my life: emails, piles of paper and my closet.
I just deleted 735 emails from my in box. Some junk, some newsletters, some blog requests, others;
letters from kid’s schools and sports teams, personal friends and family, strangers who want something, friends wanting to hang out, responses to emails I sent, endless. So many not read.
Decided I needed a fresh start. Have been trying to get on top of my email account for months and it has been a slippery slope. Every time I opened my email I felt bad for not responding to each person, especially my friends and family. Problem is, each time I respond I get another email back almost instantly. Tried to keep up but couldn’t. Realized today, I was never going to catch up.
Feels good to start fresh. I wish people would be more conscious about the number of emails they send. I know I’ve been guilty of shooting off too many because I’m too lazy to pick up the phone. Sometimes a quick phone call could save 10 email exchanges.
What do you do when your email in box reaches the point of overwhelm?
I plan to spend more time enjoying the sunsets. Thankful to my friend Marilyn who has been getting Poncho and I out on more sunset walks.
This photo was taken along the path that starts at Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon.
With several email accounts to check, I think I spend increasing chunks of the day just going through those virtual boxes. One of the unfortunate side effects of this, even as I spend more time on reading email, is paying less attention, as the volume increases and I just glance through some of them before hitting the delete button….
I vote for more sunset walks! 🙂 One of the reasons I’ve taken on that “picture a day of Mt. Tam” project was to get myself away from the computer. So far it is working, but I sure would like more quiet time too.
Sounds like you have the right idea!
As you can imagine, I am highly supportive of hibernation time. Be well, friend 🙂
I currently have 758 unread emails in my inbox. I flag them, I put them in files. I resend them to myself so I don’t forget the important ones. I mark unread the ones I need to get back to. This commentary has just highlighted my behavior for me. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving email, though. I think it’s because I like writing even more than I like talking. But, sunsets are best, Sally