Week 134

Positive post Sunday, September 8, 2019- Week 134. 

Last week I wrote about “life management’ and how in today’s world where just about anything is only a click away, we are easily distracted and entertained, which makes it very difficult to manage our time wisely.  Well, I thought I would expand on this and write about the challenges and opportunities with email and social media this week.  I’m certain you will agree that, if we let them, email and social media could control both our time and our lives.  Conversely, used with discipline and thoughtful positive intent, these communication channels can save time, improve productivity, educate and inform, and even enhance our quality of life. 

Let’s explore email first.  Have you ever felt like your email was running your life?  Can you possibly respond to all the emails you get each day?  This is a real issue especially for those of us who get over 100 emails a day.  While researching the email crisis, I found a great article from Dorie Clark titled, “Email Is Ruining Your Life, And Here’s What To Do About It”.  Here is the link Forbes piece.  It’s a quick read that is worth your time.  One key takeaway for me is to NOT use your email inbox as a project management tool, which I believe many people do.  Read the article to understand why.  Dorie also shares an interview with Wharton professor Adam Grant, who suggests carving out dedicated time for email each day (rather than 10 minutes here or there) and trying to get as close to ‘inbox zero’ as possible.  Here is the link interview with him.

Now, Social media.  Wow, where do I start?  When I googled social media channels for fun, the first thing that popped up was a list of the 21 top social media sites to consider for your brand, and that’s only the top ones!  Rather than go on a rant on how negative and biased these sites can appear or how they are misused and often leveraged as a platform to spread hatred and social injustice, I choose to explore ways to use them in a positive manner helping and motivating others by sharing examples of love, faith and education.  Incidentally, that’s exactly what motivated me to start these Positive Post Sundays.

Speaking of how social media can be used in a positive manner, my good friend Henry Martinez posted the attached photo from a church with a banner that says “JESUS, Your Wireless Provider”.  What a great reminder that Jesus is our conduit and path to God and everlasting life, and that all we have in life, including cell phones with access to email and social media, are at God’s will.  Our challenge is to use these tools and communication channels in a positive way to deepen our faith and spiritual development, and place Jesus front and center in our lives.

If you sent an email, tweeted, or posted on Jesus’ Facebook page, what would you say?