I Think I Hate Email

I've come to hate email. Not because email is inherently bad, but because my inbox has become one giant to-do list, and honestly, I'm over it.

In this episode, I'm talking about email overwhelm, the ridiculous number of inboxes I've somehow created for myself, and why opening email can feel more like an obligation than communication. Somewhere along the way, we went from sending emails to actually connect with people to filling inboxes with newsletters, promotions, notifications, and one more thing we're supposed to read, click, or buy.

But this isn't really an episode about email. It's about attention, intention and human connection.

As I'm focusing more on slowing down and being more present in my own life, I'm questioning what deserves my attention and what doesn't. I'm also thinking about what we've lost when so much of our communication becomes marketing instead of an actual conversation.

I'll also tell you why I've been spending more time on Substack, what I like about the platform, and why I think there's something refreshing about a place where people can simply write, read, learn, and connect.

And then I'm turning the question back to you: What would actually make you want to open an email?

If you listen to the podcast, send me an email at jo@oliviabellco.com with "I listen to your podcast" in the subject line. I'd genuinely love to have a conversation.

Subscribe to our Substack where we go even deeper into today's episode topic. Click HERE to become a free subscriber.

Sign up for our free companion newsletter Get to the Root.

 Website: https://oliviabellco.com

I hope you find some time today for some peace, some plants and some paws!

☮️🌿🐾

Jo

Transcript

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Speaker 0:10

Welcome to Untamed and Unfiltered Wellness, the podcast where we bridge the gap between modern life and ancient roots, cutting through the wellness noise so you can stop guessing and start building a lifestyle that actually works for you. I'm your host, Jo Swensson, herbalist and founder of Olivia Bell.

Speaker 0:28

I've come to hate email. Not because there's anything inherently wrong with email, but because every time I open my inbox, I get that pit in my stomach. I now see my inbox as a list of things. Things I need to do. And believe me, that list feels extremely overwhelming sometimes. I've come to loathe opening email because it no longer is a place where people communicate. It's become newsletters, advertisements, check out the latest sale, or I have to open it to figure out if it's something I need to do now or later. There are no longer emails where we just say hi, just share what's going on in our lives. It's become ridiculous.

Speaker 1:10

What's more ridiculous is the number of email accounts I have right now. That is just completely dumb. My personal email got so completely out of control that I opened another personal email account. That one filled up with so much crap that I opened a third. Then my bills started getting lost in all of it, so naturally opened an email account specifically for my bills. I try to keep that one at zero. It's become a competition. I also have business email. If you were adding along with me, you realize that I have five email accounts. Why have I done this to myself? I ask that question a lot. So I've been on a quest to clean these accounts up. Unsubscribe, block, mark a spam, whatever I can do to make these emails stop showing up in my inbox. Except they don't actually stop, do they? New ones keep appearing because somewhere along the way my email address was sold, shared, or entered into a database. And suddenly I'm getting emails from businesses I don't even know who they are.

Speaker 2:06

Recently, though, I did receive an email that I opened and read from another business owner asking her subscribers what kind of emails they actually wanted to receive. And that got me thinking, what would I actually read? Of course, right now, in this moment of overwhelm, the honest answer is none. I responded to her email and I told her the truth. It's it's not because I don't want to hear from people. I'm just overwhelmed with the sheer volume of my emails. When I look at my inbox right now, I don't see connection. I see chaos. Honestly, though, to all the entrepreneurs out there selling hard in email, maybe that needs to stop. Maybe you need to stop trying to sell all the time. Are you actually getting conversions from it? As a business owner, it's put me on a path of questioning a lot of things, especially as I focus more on being present, living slow, and doing things with intention. Which is part of why unsubscribing from so much has become a new habit for me. I'm not joking. I've been unsubscribing a lot. But I do want human connection. And I think a lot of us are missing that. Even those of us who happily squirrel ourselves away in our offices or on the couch under a thousand blankets and only interact with the dogs or the people in our homes. Yes, people can be overwhelming. There's no doubt about that. But in this time of feeling overwhelmed, pulled, stretched, and constantly distracted, having some kind of human connection matters. It matters for our mental health, our emotional health, and our physical health. We are social creatures. We need connection.

Speaker 3:45

And I think that's one of the reasons I've stepped away from social media, or at least stopped using it in the way I used to. There is a lack of human connection, and honestly, I think that's why I've struggled putting out a newsletter every couple of weeks. I have changed how I do it. Now my newsletters are a summary of what's been going on with the business, an herbal remedy here and there, maybe even a picture of the dogs. But my emails have become a lot more human. I'm not trying to sell anything, I'm looking for connection. I think that's why I've moved more of my attention over to Substack. Honestly, it's a completely different experience. If you're not on Substack or haven't checked it out, you need to. People there are nice. No one is pointing out things that are wrong with you. They don't say you've gained weight or lost weight. Nobody cares whether your hair looks perfect or whether you look like absolute shit that day. You post, you read, that's pretty much it. And there's some really good stuff being written. Long form, short form, personal stories, ideas, recipes, gardening, metaphysics, religion, politics, sourdough, you name it. It's basically like having an unlimited number of magazines. Except the authors are people who are actually living their lives and sharing what they're learning. I've even found some really great farmers on there who write and share tips that I've actually used. And that's what I like about it. There's room to be curious. There's room to learn. There's room to simply read something because it interests you. There's connection without the fakeness.

Speaker 5:20

If I could delete all five of my email accounts tomorrow, I think I might do that. But there's still this tiny irrational fear in the back of my mind that if I delete them, someone lost at sea finally escaped that desert island bound Wi-Fi, and they've been desperately trying to reach me. And then I would have deleted my email account. Okay, I know that's dramatic, but I think you know what I'm saying. Maybe the answer isn't deleting everything. Maybe it's being more intentional about what we allow into our attention.

Speaker 5:49

So here's what I want you to do this week. Go through your emails. The stuff that you auto-delete, anyways, try unsubscribing from it.

Speaker 5:58

Number two, if you want to start reading positive articles and make real connections, head over to Substack and just subscribe to these people. It's free. You don't need to pay for it. I write there just because I like it, and I put time into the articles, and then, you know, I share some herbal recipes too.

Speaker 6:19

Number three If you're looking for a real connection, send me an email to my business account because I'm gonna read that one. Jo@ oliviabelco.com. Put "I listen to your podcast" in the subject line, so I know where you came from. I really will open it. But if you're trying to sell me something, forget it. I'm just gonna block you.

Speaker 6:42

And finally, what would make you open an email because you genuinely wanted to read it? What would make you feel like you're hearing from a person rather than receiving another piece of marketing? Because that's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't want to send another email that becomes one more thing sitting in your inbox, making you feel like you have something else to do. I'd rather send you something that makes you want to open it, something you actually want to read, something that reminds you there's a real person on the other side of that screen. And maybe that's what I'm looking for too. Not another email. Just a conversation.

Speaker 7:21

If this episode stuck with you today, join our Substack community, where we can explore this idea a little bit further. You'll also find some reflection questions, herbal remedies, and a community of like-minded people. It's free to subscribe. The link is in the show notes.

Speaker 7:36

I hope you make some time today and every day for some peace, some plants, and some paws. Thank you so much for listening to Untamed and Unfiltered Wellness.