Addicted to Email

I am one week into my 7 week sabbatical. Last Monday was day one. A crazy day, but a normal Monday for me: Erica works, so I watch the kids all day, do laundry, meals, baths, etc. It didn't feel much like a break from anything. But there were a few sabbatical-like plans already kicking in. In my desire to really step away from ministry for 7 weeks and really rest and re-charge, I knew that I needed to avoid my email. I get several church/work email messages every day- and not just from church members, but from other businesses and organizations. And I knew that seeing the subject line of an email would push my mind to engage, so I asked a trusted friend to check my email for me and then forward only personal emails to me to another account that I rarely use. On Sunday night I changed the settings in Outlook to check only the other account. Goodbye jmatters@juno.com See you in 7 weeks.

So it was Monday morning, right after transferring a load from the washer to the dryer, and I sat down to check my email. Nothing. Right after lunch: nothing. Okay, now the kids are down for their naps: No new mail. After bedtime? Nothing all day. I felt bored . . . unneeded . . . unimportant . . . uninformed . . . lightheaded. I craved an electronic message that might boost my sense of self-importance. Yes, I am addicted. (As it turns out, at least I am not alone. Check out this article in Psychology Today. Wow- I bet I spend a ton of time every day just checking email- even though most of it is junk, spam, or ads for products I won't purchase. And now I discover that I am also investing emotional energy in email. Seems kind of like a waste. I need to get a hold on that and make a change when I get back to regular duty in 6 weeks.

So now it is one week later. We went out of town for the weekend, and because I don't have Internet Explorer installed on my new laptop, I was unable to get online from the hotel. And I didn't even care. Tonight I got online for the first time in days . . . and it feels pretty good.