Subscribe, Subscribe, Subscribe, Unsubscribe
As I worked through the last few days of the year, cleaning up details that just didn’t make it to my priority list, but still needed reviewed, I found myself sorting more emails and text messages than I can remember ever doing. I was finding that for some reason, everyone wanted my attention and connection, but not necessarily in my best interest. I found myself simply out of obligation, to acknowledge each one of those communications.
Have you found this to be the same for you? With working from home, more Americans are working longer days according to the news. But what else are we doing during those long work days? J.P. Morgan reports we are spending more time online shopping. The online shopping experience has given us the capability to shop for nearly anything, anywhere, anytime, mostly in a ‘too’ efficient manner. We have signed up for our initial additional discounts, wanting to grab the best deal on consulting packages to the recurring TP order, all to ensure we have what we need and want. A sense of control I suppose. The path is set, and we just continue to go down the rabbit hole.
Now is the time to reconsider and disconnect from the sites you probably are being tempted by every day. The “specials” and the “sales” and the “only for the next 2 hours” discounts are gaining ground in your inbox and messages. IF you need to make a purchase, most likely, you will find a great price, on your terms, to make that investment. Your time efficiency is depleted and most likely, your budget is too. Come back to the productive processes you know and trust, and clean up and clean out those subscriptions that you don’t need. You don’t need the visual in your daily work world, and you definitely don’t need to spend time sorting through them every day.
Use your time now, to unsubscribe. Don’t just hit delete, either unsubscribe (without going to the site) or if it truly is spam, mark it as so and let your software do the work for you ongoing.
However, remember, there are some great subscriptions that you trust, enjoy, and enhance your productivity, whether through knowledge or investment. Don’t just go cold turkey. Use a plan to get it right.
If you don’t know the site, probably safe to unsubscribe.
If you know the site, but find that every time you click on it, you go down a rabbit hole, only to discover you just wasted 20 minutes, unsubscribe.
If you save the email to ‘read later’, only to find that you would have to live to be 192 to read all that you plan to get through, time to be real with yourself, keep the sources you have found most useful and for the rest, unsubscribe.
Keep those sources that you need to make time to read, and then put time on your schedule, sooner than later, as the content is most likely, time sensitive.
If you trust the source, you find positive benefits in reading and clicking through the links, you don’t feel you wasted time on useless embedded links, keep it. Good example of that is the Business Warrior monthly newsletter. (Hint, it is the one you are reading now!)
Please note, this isn’t a ploy to minimize the importance of marketing and reaching the ideal customer. This is simply to make sure you consider whether you are the ideal customer for that marketing campaign. Be aware, be present, and be conscientious of your time and your resources. Time is the most important resource.
Wishing you a Happy New Year with much more time with family and friends.