This morning, I had an interesting consulting conversation with a non-profit organization which is looking to better optimize its social media initiatives. During the course of our chat, the topic of direct mail arose. I shared my somewhat "dim" view of what I termed "holy junk mail" -- that is, direct mail pieces from wonderful organizations that contain heart-felt pleas for support, but also "free" items that are often religious or spiritual in nature.
Readers here probably know that my faith means a great deal to me. So perhaps you won't be surprised when I share that I have a hard time "tossing" holy junk mail. It sits in a stack on my desk, often unsorted -- and always unresponded to -- until the situation gets out of hand.
Then it gets recycled.
The conversation has me thinking about the other types of "junk mail" messages I hoard and later trash these days:
- Social media notifications
- Email group messages
- "To do someday" items
- Press releases
Entire books have been written on the topic of dealing with the influx of information that now prevails in our society. I've read a few, and still struggle with my "message hoarding" tendancies, especially in my inbox. Filters help, but what I really need is a different mindset that helps me attend immediately to what matters most, deal with it and move on.
I've also been pondering the message I send -- am I contributing to the clutter with my posts, tweets and pins? Or am I adding value for those I serve?
The jury is still out...
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