This is part of my Spring Cleaning series that runs on Wednesdays through the end of Spring.
When I announced last week that I was starting this Spring Cleaning series, a friend asked “are you going to cover uncluttering the brain?”
And I said: “Yes!”
So instead of starting with physical clutter in your closets and kitchen pantry, that’s where I’m starting… with the stuff that clutters up our brains.
What clutters up your brain?
Answer that question in the comments and I’ll cover it in my next post.
In the meantime, I’d like to bring your attention to a growing epidemic in our culture: FOMO.
You may have FOMO if…
- You check email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram every 15 minutes (or every 3 minutes after you post something to see if anyone responds).
- You have 10 or more tabs open in your browser at any given moment.
- You have more than 5 Post-it notes on your desk and/or edge of your monitor reminding you of books to read, quotes to ponder, and stuff to do.
- You are subscribed to more newsletters than anyone could possibly keep up with.
- You never close your Facebook or email tabs.
- You say “yes” to every invitation.
- Your inbox has more than 100 emails in it, most of which you are keeping there “in case” you need it, find time to read it, decide to use the coupon this weekend, or maybe you might think about perhaps someday doing/attending/reading/using/responding to it.
- You spend hours every day on Facebook, Twitter, and/or email.
- You’ve overcommitted yourself. Your calendar is FULL of events, only half of which you really want to attend, because you never know who might be there or what might happen.
Fear Of Missing Out
How often do you subscribe to something, buy something, “save something for later” (not archive it, not delete it, not file it away, but add it to your “later” pile), or agree to attend a meeting/party/event because you are afraid you might miss out if you don’t go?
Yeah, me too.
My FOMO shows up the most in my information addiction. I subscribe to newsletters like a crazy person, thinking I really need to learn from this person/company only to find I really don’t have the time or the interest to actually read it. And then never unsubscribe because I might want to read it later (or feel guilty about unsubscribing).
I used to “save” emails by leaving them in my Inbox to read later or because it might end up being important. At one point I had over a thousand emails in my Inbox. Many of those were newsletters I thought I’d read someday.