Email used to be my DRUG. I was addicted to refreshing my inbox- I loved seeing those new messages pop up, no matter what they contained. And I didn’t just love checking messages, I loved answering them too!
But then my business began to grow, and quickly. I had more weddings to photograph and edit, more meetings, more travel, and so on. And slowly, I began to fear my inbox.
It had become this beast I couldn’t tame- as soon as that little “loading 15 new emails” bar would appear on my phone, my chest tightened. I’d read the ones that seemed most pressing and promise myself I’d answer them once I was back at my desk, but as soon as the bold text disappeared from a subject line in my inbox, it somehow seemed less pressing. And so my emails would pile up.
So I took email off of my phone.
And it’s been the single biggest stress relief of my career! Because my office hours are supposed to run 9-4, Monday through Friday, checking emails at 11pm on my phone was causing a LOT of unnecessary stress! It was a reflex- every time I picked up my phone, I’d check my email too, which meant I could be in the middle of an amazing girls night out, only to see that I had a request for something that could easily wait until Monday morning. And then I’d spend the rest of the night worrying about answering that request, making it impossible to be entirely present with friends.
These days, I’ve implemented a few more rules for email:
So here’s my challenge for you: get out your phone and turn off email. Right now! And see how it feels to go for a weekend without obsessing over your inbox. You can do it, I promise! And you’ll feel freer and more present with your friends and family as a result :).
And because I’m totally obsessed with these photos by David Abel from our time in Paris (and starting sentences with the word “and,” apparently?), here’s an example of us being totally present. See how carefree we are?! Probably 100% due to the fact that I took email off of my phone. Or because we were in Paris, one of the two.
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I did the same thing last year and it has been such a relief!!! I’m much more diligent with my communication as well as my time through the work day now too! Great tip!
Love the photos. Love getting emails or any kind of messages from you!????
I looooove that first photo in this post. Beautiful!
Also, I agree to this post 100%! I had to remove my email from my phone because I couldn’t stop looking at it!
Granted I don’t run my own business (I’m a nurse) & thus my career is very different, but even so I’m so glad I’ve never allowed my work email to go to my phone b/c I know it would really stress me out. Congrats on taking such a big step to get your life back.