Beware of This Online Time Suck - Should I Even Be Saying This on Substack?
It is not social media and I probably shouldn't be saying this on Substack
NOTE: I'm just reposting this from my old blog - I wrote this article 4 years ago -
before I, or most of the newsletters I was subscribing to, were on Substack!
And it's still (if not more!) relevant.
When I wrote an article on how my various newsletter subscriptions became my most significant online time suck, I was unaware that it was an issue for many people.
But the overwhelm is real, and there are even apps that will help you manage all your various subscriptions.
I recently read an article advising us on how to find out how many subscriptions we are paying for and how to manage that. Just imagine paying $5-7 a month for a newsletter to be delivered to your inbox and not even being aware that you are paying for it, let alone making sure that whatever you are paying for (in time or money) adds any value to your life.
It is quite disturbing, don't you think?
Once I was aware of the number of newsletters I am subscribed to (all free, sorry, I can't bring myself to pay for any of it (relative to the added value to my life), even though I know how time-consuming it is to create them), I just used my email filtering to automatically forward all my Newsletters to a specific email folder.
Subsequently, I unsubscribed from most of them, because either my interests changed or they were full of links to other articles adding significantly to the time suck.
There are newsletters devoted entirely to collecting links from around the web and delivering them to your inbox and claiming they are saving you time, so you don't have to go looking yourself. When, in reality, you are probably not any better off knowing about them at all.
Recently, I wrote about being busy and how to avoid unnecessary time suck by getting that busy time under control.
I examine my time frequently and make sure I know where it goes.
I Tracked My Week in 30 Minute Intervals
I went back to my good old time tracker, where I tracked my time in 30 minutes intervals using a simple excel spreadsheet. I did this for seven days and was shocked at what I discovered.
I was spending upwards of two hours a day reading various newsletters and subscriptions that come directly into my inbox.
NOTE: 4 years later - watch your Substack app!
My time suck was my email! And for over two decades now (no kidding) I take pride in my Inbox Zero.
Help, help, what have I done. And how? I choose carefully, like most of us do, what goes into my precious inbox.
But, each newsletter I subscribe to comes with more links, and each link leads to another link. So whether I am reading on my phone or my laptop, I am getting sucked into the black hole of the internet. You may think you don’t have 2-3 extra hours to spend on that anyway. I didn’t think I did.
But as they say, you always find time for those easy and passive consumption activities like browsing and watching Netflix.
And there seems to be an increasing trend of curated newsletters all over the internet.
Everyone wants to have a growing mailing list. That includes every online newspaper and magazine, an online or a brick and mortar business, a reputable website, a small, one-person blog like mine. Just google “email list,” and you will find article after article telling you why you need to create your email list now and how to lure in your subscribers.
My subscriptions include blogs that interest me and literary magazines (reputable and obscure) I love to read. But they all lead to more links, and because I like to keep inbox zero at all times, I tend to open and read them all.
But since I examined my time in honest 30 minutes intervals, I can now take this head-on.
So Did I Unsubscribe?
Unsubscribing from all would be the easy thing to do, but I love all those newsletters. I have followed some for years and do still find something of value to me.
Although, using the word value is always questionable. Plus I tend to suffer from FOMO.
I saved this quote from Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism as a reminder.
Let’s not forget what Thoreau said: “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.”
But I was not ready to kiss them all goodbye yet.
What I Did Instead?
When my son was a baby, I subscribed to at least a dozen websites for mothers, parenting, etc. At some point, I cleaned up my email and unsubscribed from them all. I cannot tell you what a relief that was. I used this handy little tool, called Unroll Me to do it. I figured I would just start with a clean slate.
I never looked back.
So I may end up doing that eventually, but as I wasn’t ready to let go yet, I went to the good old email filter.
As the newsletters kept coming, I went to my Mail Filter and created a new folder for my subscriptions and directed my emails automatically there.
This still allows me to keep my Inbox Zero. And like Newport advises, I can now schedule my low-quality leisure time by going directly to these folders.
In the last five days since I established this folder, over 30 newsletters went in there. Some are from the same sender, some not. But I would have, on a typical week, probably opened and read (most probably skimmed, but still) every single one of them.
I believe I will end up unsubscribing from many of them after all.
NOTE: 4 years later - I have.
This practice of temporarily removing ourselves from a source of time suck (honestly, I haven’t opened them yet, just because they come to a folder that is not immediately visible to me) is what Cal Newport refers to in this quote.
A Pledge to Myself
I want to spend more time doing things in the physical world rather than passively consuming.
More physical creativity
More face-to-face meaningful social interactions.
More high-impact but demanding activities like yoga, hiking, writing, engaging in various social activities and quality time spent with my family.
Less of everything else.
How about you? Do you regularly examine your time? Have you found anything surprising?
I created a new email address, specifically for Substack and enjoyed zero inboxes - until I started subscribing to so many lovely newsletters!
How’s the reading load on Substack vs blogging saga?
Hi Stella - I've noticed that Substack fills my inbox far too much. I'm getting better at choosing whether a topic interests me enough to read or engage with, and I think I'll be unsubscribing from a few as time goes on. I like the "follow" option where I can pop in and out when I feel like it. I also think that those who take the time to engage with me are the ones that I'll stay in touch with - others who are in different stages of life or who write reallllllly long posts will gradually be culled. Good luck with finding your sweet spot (and Yes! to an empty inbox!) x