Pat Taub
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL
“It is possible that you do not receive many emails at all, in which case I am very jealous…”
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“A Simpler Guide to Gm@il by Ceri Clark
“Could I live without email?” The question popped into my head as I was perusing “how to” computer books in the library.
Pondering a life without email
Why would I even think of such a thing? I first heard about e (for electronic) mail during the Oliver North investigation by Congress in the 1980s, and I immediately wanted to access this special way to get even more mail! (For a history of email, go here. Fun fact – Queen Elizabeth was the first head of state to use email – in the 1970s!)
Queen Elizabeth’s e-communications lasted several decades
Little did I know it would become an intimate part of my work and personal life. As a staffer for CODEPINK for several years, I read and responded to “info” email, which meant plowing through hundreds of messages a day, and viewing a lot of hate mail, mostly from angry boys and men. On the CODEPINK blog, Pink Tank, I wrote about that experience.
Like almost everyone, I got used to email for personal communications (though I resisted emailing family members in preference to phone calls and in-person visits), letters to the editor, political screeds, poetry, and more. I also was and still am required to give out my email address for petitions, registrations for courses and webinars, accessing my medical records online, and many other reasons, valid or not.
A woman consumed with her daily email
In my 70th year, feeling the familiar burn of tendonitis in my wrists and the backs of my hands as I grind through dozens of emails a day, something a friend said years ago has come back to haunt me. Musing about plans for an eventual retirement, she wondered how she could “retire” from email.
The author at her keyboard
Email is a powerful tool. Or it CAN be. Communications of all kinds are sent off quickly without stamps, envelopes, or the need for legible cursive handwriting. You can search it. Emails stored over years record the development of a friendship or a love affair. Or, when the relationship ends, the correspondence can be bulk-deleted in the twinkling of an eye – no tedious burning of letters in the fireplace!
It is indeed hard to imagine a life without it now.
But now that I am emailing while elderly – and my wrists, concentration, and eyesight are not likely to get better over time – I am considering the following:
Is email from any given organization adding value to my life, and if not, what then? As 2025 turns out to be The Year Musk Took Over the Federal Government, my email load has definitely increased with requests (that often feel like panicked screams) for me to donate, take action, get more involved, when I already often feel overwhelmed.
Feeling overwhelmed by the volume of email
How can I cut back on my emailing time? I have cut down on writing long emails, compared to years ago.
Can I plan for a “digital detox” later this year, and use the vacation reply feature more frequently to gently tell people I’m not available for emailing?
Can I send messages via “snail mail” more frequently? I certainly enjoy writing a note in a pretty card more than banging on my keyboard!
Soon after my mother’s death, I closed her email account, a sad but necessary task. I wonder how many of those reading this blog post have had to do this. Should the dying person, if physically and mentally able, take this task on as part of a conscious dying process?
But maybe that is a subject for future discussion. Interested? Just email me at …
Just kidding!
