I admit it. I’m terrible about keeping my email tidy – especially my personal email. I also tend to allow junk to flood my inbox rather than unsubscribe from email lists. Is it really worth getting three emails a day from Old Navy to not miss a coupon or sale, especially when I only purchase something once a year? According to my inbox, that’s debatable. However, I’ve starting increasingly making the choice to unsubscribe.

Similarly in life I sometimes allow unnecessary things to flood and overwhelm me. Sometimes they are not all bad, but I need to maintain awareness and make sure I don’t allow the important things to go unnoticed and unattended to due to the noise of everything else.

For instance, I’m shopping for a new bike. Or more like hunting. I’m challenged with trying to find something I’m satisfied with in my relatively small price range. As a result, I find myself combing through Craigslist often. Honestly, even now I’m fighting the temptation to stop writing and go check Craigslist for new bike listings. However, something I find when I’m home, I’ll allow it to dominate my time rather than something possibly more important.

I’m finding I feel more satisfied when I choose take moments and edit distractions out. When I arrive home after work, I find more satisfaction in my evening if I decide to put my phone away and out of sight (or at least not check it every two minutes).

When I intentionally choose to remove certain things from my life (even temporarily), more important things (like Esposa and Hijo) rise to the forefront and focus. I can always return and add extra things to my life. However, when I remove something intentionally, I rarely find I add it back in. The same goes when I unsubscribe from an email list.