Hi, I’m Jen and I’m a recovering data addict.
I don’t know about you, but knowing too much and reading too much can make me feel hurried, stressed, and even physically ill. Why put that kind of pressure on yourself? If you are overloaded by data like I am, there are a few ways to wean yourself of the incessant input and gain back your life.
1. Unsubscribe from 1/2 of your RSS feeds.
Then do it again. Seriously. Reduce your RSS feeds to 1/4 of what you have. Are there blogs that cause you to spend too much time or money on unimportant things? For me, craft blogs, while pretty, are a time suck. Because I am not crafty. At. All. And deal sites? The great ones cause me to spend too much money on super cute stuff. Ditto for makeup blogs.
The best way to start is to ignore your feed reader for a week. This way, you can look at a week’s worth of posts to see how relevant they are to you. Hopelessly behind? Even better!
2. Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe!
Go through your email just as ruthlessly. And use your filters. Do you need daily emails from flash sale sites? Are there newsletters you never read? How about store coupons? Do you still shop there? If so, file them into their own folder on arrival. Remember to empty it once a month. If not, unsubscribe! Are you REALLY going to read that digital magazine you subscribe to?
3. Deal with the mail.
As soon as it comes in the door. I have had a trash bag or box by the door to recycle for YEARS. If you coupon, save those if you think you will use them, but unless you are looking for clothes, throw out the Land’s End catalog. Have enough Christmas craft supplies to gag all 12 of Santa’s reindeer? Then throw out the Oriental Trading catalog!
If you decide to throw something out & need a coupon code, check RetailMeNot. Or wait for the next one. Or check the email folder. See; I KNOW. If you want to stop it from coming into the house, go to Catalog Choice and remove yourself from mailing lists.
4. Purge the magazine box.
Does your magazine pile look like mine? Six months old, but you can’t throw them out until you read them because you might find something good in it? I have 2 piles actually. It’s so easy to rack up 10 magazine subscriptions when they are only $5 each or even free!
If you don’t read them, consider canceling them. The $0.50 refund will buy you a candy bar on sale and 3 months of not feeling like you aren’t getting things done ;).
Do you suffer from data overload?
Stay tuned for more ways to wean yourself off the constant need for input next week.
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