Recovering Emailaholic (and over it)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 11:36PM I used to be an Emailaholic. At the peak of my emailing career, I had 10 email accounts. One for each business and non-profit I worked with plus a yahoo, hotmail, and gmail account -- all with the same email prefix. I was on email early -- like 1995. I couldn't believe, at the time, that more people were not using email.
Whether an alias, forward, or POP account directly into my MacMail, I saw emails dropping in my inbox like candy in my trick-or-treat bag. More! More! More! And I gotta open them all now! I would send out dozens of emails every hour, requesting action, information, data, confirmation, whatever. On top of the time I spent all day on email, I would wake up and check email before taking shower, before heading out to work, before and after meals, at night before going to bed, during weekends, holidays, vacation, family trips -- anytime, anywhere. I wanted to hear that little "ding" sound -- music to my ears for "you've got mail."
Ya know the feeling a couple days after halloween when you've eaten so much of your candy that you could puke, and never want to see candy again? That's how I got with email. It was too much. I was too connected. I felt like I had a mouse connected to my hip at all times and I needed to get away.
Furthermore, it had as much to do with a death in the family as it did just realizing that I'm not that important. The passing of someone close to me made me realize that time and experiences are extremely precious, and that email is a time suck that will always be there. It's a great communication tool when used wisely and in moderation. It should not consume our lives. I don't need to check it every moment because there is nothing in that inbox that is as important as the people, friends, and family in my life. If someone has something urgent for me, call me.
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