Happy New Year

“Loafing is the most productive part of a writer's life.” - James Norman Hall

Usually I begin the year with a fresh journal, but in 2010 I was too involved with other aspects of life to keep much of a daily log.

In keeping with the notion of a fresh start, I cleaned up my email. I have been torturing myself with emails, telling myself that I will get to them later, then rereading and reshelving them umpteen times.  I have a second email address that is just for newsletters, information, and retail-related emails - anything that isn’t personal or business goes to the other email account. I haven’t even checked it in over a month, and it had accumulated hundreds of unnecessary pieces of info directed to me.

Today, I unsubscribed myself from nearly everything. No more emails from political or social agencies; no more Kodak, Snapfish, or Shutterfly. The vegan newsletter is gone, so is the Word of the Day. Bye to Angie’s List, Borders, Abes and Barnes and Nobles. Sorry to an end to slavery, hunger, and death penalty abolition – I still care about you, but I don’t want to hear from you. Ta Ta to vitamin sellers, nursing magazines, herb newsletters, and shoes. On and on, it went, until I was unsubscribed from everything I received and had not read in the past two months.

Then, I went to my regular email box and using suggestions I had read in a great blog, Zen Habits, I purged until I reached cyber-peace. It’s like starting with a blank slate.

May 2011 be a writerly one, and please don't send me an email for at least a day. Just once I want to stare at an empty in-box.