Why Inbox Zero Doesn't Make You A Hero

It’s Sunday evening and I’ve just got off a call. During the call the conversation took a turn to discussing emails. 

 

I hit inbox zero throughout the day and make sure I’ve cleared everything by the end of the day too. Obviously, some things just get put in the diary for tomorrow but that’s good enough. The inbox is clear. 

 

Something that I also noticed during the telephone conversation is that for the last 18 years I have been a slave to my inbox. I check it constantly. Throughout the working day, in the evening, at weekends. Even when I am on holiday. It became more apparent because for this long weekend, I’ve not been actively checking and responding to my emails. I know there are 00’s of emails in my various inboxes but I needed me time this weekend. I needed time to reflect and let my brain just relax. I’ve hardly been on social media and I’ve really relaxed. 

 

I also noticed that my inbox, and being a slave to it, has also had an effect on my physical posture. The constant mental strain of being a slave to technology has actually made me ‘wilt’. The few day’s rest, and of not checking the constant barrage of emails, has left me more positive, mentally happier, less stressed and taller. Yes, I’m holding my head and body higher than normal. 

 

This got me thinking, how many other people are slave to the little red dot of doom? Do you constantly check your notifications and emails? Are you always thinking about work or social media? 

 

For me, this stops today. 

 

I have spent almost 2 decades of my life being on call to other people and technology. A red dot or a notification alert sounds and I’m there to make sure everything is ok or just to check out what has been said. 

 

You may think this is a weird thing for a Virtual Assistant to be saying. It’s kind of my job to be there for other people. It’s my job to make people happy and get the job done. That’s right, but I am also a business owner in my own right. I’m also human. I need rest and relaxation just as much as anyone else. 

 

So, I’ve just had a fiddle with my notification settings. I’ll no longer receive email notifications on my phone for social media or email. I’m in front of my computer all day, so when I’m at work I’ll have constant access to them. When I’m done, I’m done. Emails will be checked the next working day and social media will be checked when I want to check. 

 

After almost 20 years of building my career and the last 10 years of being self-employed and building my business(es), I’m declaring myself free of the shackles of modern-day technology, emails, and social bloody media! 

 

A part of me, the organised PA, is screaming ‘NOOOOOOO! What if someone NEEDS you, or what if someone DIES!’. Well, I’d like to think if things are THAT bad, someone would call me. 

 

So much has changed in the world over the last couple of months and it’s made me realise what is really important. Being on call to the red dot of doom doesn’t even hit the top 100 on my list. 

 

Health, family, relaxation, happiness, love. They’re all at the top of my list. 

 

So, I ask you again… Are you a slave to technology and notifications? Is Inbox zero REALLY worth it? Or are we all just kidding ourselves in to thinking that we need a clean inbox to be organised and professional? 

 

That’s it. 

I’m done. 

Until next time, 

 

Dee x