Digital streamlining

Naomi

I wrote a post a couple years ago, when the blog reader/organizer Google Reader was being shut down, about how to simplify online life.  Rereading the comments got me thinking that 1) it’s something most of us struggle with and 2) I still don’t have a workable solution.

I know lots of people set limits for how long they allow themselves to be on Facebook, if at all.  There are even apps to help us get work done without certain distractions.  For me, I usually only browse through Twitter and Facebook during downtime, like when in line somewhere or putting my daughter to bed, and it’s also not every day.  (I have never ever been the norm and I’m ok with that.)  I know I miss things and that’s ok… I don’t have that “fear of missing out” people talk about.

However, even with cutting out most online classes, I still get a (virtual) TON of e-mail.  My solution to the close of Google Reader was to subscribe by e-mail to the blogs I love.  Maybe it’s because there are lots of blog challenges out there right now, but I don’t need to get a post every single day from people.  I’ve been doing a lot of deleting.  Because, you know, the state of my mental health is directly proportional to the number of e-mails in my inbox.

Then there’s the desire to comment on those posts if I want that person to know that what they wrote rings true to me, or that I support them, or that I feel their pain.  But that usually has to be done from my computer, not my iphone.  So it sits in my inbox for a few days before I get to that.

I realize this is a modern-day dilemma, and a first-world one at that, but still… What do you all do to manage your digital life?

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13 responses

  1. Sarah

    Yep, I share those same problems. It is such a delicate balance. And if we are doing our own work as we should be doing. It is hard to keep up with everything else as well. It is a work in progress for sure.

    Reply
  2. Harmony Harrison

    I hear you, I hear you. And I absolutely love this line: “the state of my mental health is directly proportional to the number of e-mails in my inbox.” So very true.

    I don’t like subscribing to blogs by email unless the blogger only posts rarely — a few times a month. Only a few blogs make it to my very short list for email subscription.

    I use my BlogLovin account as a way to bookmark blogs I’m interested in but don’t necessarily want in my inbox. Every week or two, I scroll down my BlogLovin feed and read the posts that interest me — in the timing that is right for me.

    Though I haven’t simplified Facebook or other online issues, this particular simplification has helped me out a lot.

    Please let us know if you come up with some great solutions.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      I think I’ll try relying on Bloglovin more and see how that goes. It sounds like letting myself NOT read everything is the key. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Tat

    Every now and then I get so stressed out that I unsubscribe from everything. Then I start again. It seems to be a permanent cycle.

    As far as phones go, I got my iPhone only a few months ago and I am already noticing huge inclination to check my email, facebook, twitter and everything else every 5 minutes. At the moment, I’m challenging myself to do without and just check everything maybe once a day or less. If I find that I can’t do it, I will be deleting apps. I hate my children seeing me playing with my phone all the time. I want to be present for them and I want to teach them to be present.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      I actually need that mindset when I’m decluttering. Ruthlessly weeding out the unnecessary only happens every once in a while though. I’m impressed that you only just got an iphone!

      Reply
  4. Amy Putkonen

    Wow, that is impressive, Elda! (No cell phone or hardly any FB.)

    Naomi, you always seem to me like someone who is so conscious. That is hard to do when there is just so much information out there. Email is a challenge, so my technique is to stay on top of it as much as possible. This comes and goes. I unsubscribe a lot. If I find that I am just chipmunking my emails without reading them, then I unsubscribe.

    As far as blogs go, I am not very good at keeping up. I so love my blogging friends and have been visiting the Inspired Blogging page as my “go-to” place for keeping up with my blogging friends. I also have a BlogLovin account but I don’t use it as much as I would like to.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      I think I’ll unsubscribe from a few on Inspired Blogging and try to remember to visit the group more. I may be conscious, but it helps to deliberately ignore some things. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Elda

    I know I am way out of the norm here but I have resisted social media for so long. Just went full into Facebook within the last few weeks. Right now, it seems daunting but I understand it is because I am still trying to figure it all out and decide what I want to check in on and what not to spend time on.

    I got rid of my cell phone years ago so I can be ‘in the moment’ when I am out and about. I find it gives me an opportunity to really be present in all situations.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      How impressive! You prove that you really can choose to do what you want and be better for it.

      Reply
  6. Patti

    Please don’t delete me. I just found out my job has been eliminated and I need all the support I can get.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      I’m sorry to hear that! Maybe it’ll be the impetus to find a more supportive work environment? I promise I won’t delete you!

      Reply
  7. Susanna Gross

    This is a problem we all face. I used to have 100s of messages in my Inbox and it upset me and made me less effective at work. I stumbled on one simple solution this year, and am still doing it. My mail reader has an “Archive” button which moves messages into a mail folder labeled Archive which I think may be compressed. Formerly, I sorted my email into categories, and I had trouble deciding on the category, but it’s fine to keep all the messages I may want to read again (but am not going to act on personally) in Archive. That means I’ve kept just the dozen or so that actually require action in my Inbox, and I waste a loss less time looking through them, and deal with them more rapidly. Facebook is a form of entertainment for me, and not overwhelming because I have only accepted a few dozen family and friends. Twitter is even more focussed. Aside from you, I only follow posts from an old college friend who is a professor of physics at Brown university, and of course my favorite band and musician. REO Speedwagon gave me the motivation to join Twitter and Facebook. They are very good at social media.

    Reply
    1. Naomi

      Well, I’m honored you subscribe to me. 🙂 I love your solution to the inbox mayhem. I tried doing that on a vacation a year ago and still haven’t read those emails. Probably should just delete them.

      Reply

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