Email Control

On any given day I get about 60-75 emails, of which there are 25 to 30 that need follow-up action on my part. This might not seem like much to many, but I have been struggling to stay on top of this. Invariably, when there are these many emails and you let a couple of them slip or slide, people start sending you reminder emails. These reminders tend to aggravate me, and I start to focus on them at the cost of letting other important mails slip. This has become a vicious cycle.

Recently I have discovered a few of things that are helping me. First, do not work with your email inbox open and actively connected /synchronized to the server. Second, download the emails about 2-3 times a day and make sure that you open every email once and once only. Third, start to open and deal with the emails from the bottom to the top (first in first out). This step requires some deal of discipline. Once you open the email -- disposition it! Do not leave it sitting in the inbox. Either delete it or delegate it to the appropriate party or file it in the appropriate folder for future reference. Usually you need to file it in the folder that suggests itself in the first 5-10 seconds.

Try this approach and see if you can get a handle on this email overload. It is one of the primary stressors in this day and age and the sooner we learn to deal with it effectively the better off we will be!

Let me know if it is working for you.

Timelessness

Last night I experienced the state of timelessness. Mihali Csikszentmihalyi calls it the state of "flow." It is a wonderful state of being.

With some painting supplies, a cup of coffee and '80s Tamil film songs (from YouTube), I started to work on the bedroom window frames. To get to the windows, I had to move the bed and the side tables, and therefore had to unplug the bedroom clock and set it aside. There was no sense of time other than the fact that it was nearing sundown and people were walking their dogs after dinner time. My wife, Prema, took the kids out and I was home alone. The initial preparation and set-up involved just some light labor, and I found the work to be very soothing. Later the kids came back home, had dinner and went to bed, but I was there in the master bedroom busy painting the frames in bleach white. When the work was done, I did not bother to plug the clock back on. I slept in the next Sunday morning and woke up only when the glare of the sun was too much for the eyes. (I had removed the window blinds).

I plan to paint the master bedroom next weekend, and expect to repeat this experience. The color we have picked out for the bedroom is a touch darker than olive green called Simply Stunning!

Stress Management Tips

1. Avoid unnecessary Stress
2. Alter the situation
3. Adapt to stressor
4. Accept the things you can’t change
5. Make time for fun and relaxation
6. Adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Introduction

Hello!

We live in a stressful place. There are many stressors like meetings, appointments, deadlines, emails, performance appraisals, recession, lay-offs, breaking news, terrorism, etc. It is easy to get overwhelmed and lose perspective on life. I firmly believe that many years ago, before all these technological advancements started to grow around us and put enormous pressure on us, we lived a rather simple life. It was perhaps not as comfortable or interesting as it is nowadays, but one cannot deny the fact that it was uncomplicated and allowed us to have the time to enjoy the simple pleasures. I pine for those long lost days. This blog is my attempt to seek out a simple life amidst all the hectic mayhem that surrounds us today. We have to actively learn to manage the stressors, and regain our once enjoyable life. In here, I want to share my attempts to enjoy life.

Mukund