Sunday, December 18, 2022

Google Groups You Can Do

The end of November/beginning of December was rough for me. I thought I had a migraine I couldn't get rid of and ended up spending 3 days in the hospital, undergoing a bunch of tests (all came back normal), ultimately to be diagnosed with shingles. I was stopped in my tracks. It was beyond awful. The pain was horrendous & nothing helped. It appeared on my face. And in my right eye.

With shingles, I had reduced vision for a week or so, so my inboxes were a giant mess when I was able to finally take a look. Ugh. I was also under strict orders to TAKE IT EASY. REST. DO NOT WORK. [I have never been a believer in "zero inbox". Mostly because I just didn't think I could achieve it. So I honestly didn't try hard.]

BUT ... I used this time as an opportunity to take the time and DO something about it. All it took was adjusting the settings in the several Google Groups I belong to. I love the learning and sharing that happens in these groups and I don't want to "miss out" ... but I also can't read/respond to everything. 

I did a little reading on what the settings actually meant and voilá! I am a changed person! (well ... when it comes to email, anyway)

I put together a quick overview of what it looks like - and below, I will link to some Google Groups resources, if you want to dive in a little deeper like I did.

Google Groups Help page "Create a group & choose group settings".


P.S. I'm not missing out! If anything, I am smarter about the ones I actually read, and feel good about the learning I do. And I know I managing my time better. Rather than 20 or so emails, I get a max of ONE per group. WOW!!!

P.P.S. I also decided to turn off the text message notifications on my watch. That has also made a difference! It's little things like this that are going to help me move into 2023 with a better balance and helping me focus on the "now". 

My challenge to you ... what is one little change can you make? Here are a few I'm contemplating trying next ... thoughts?

  • Turn off notifications for social media? 
  • Turn off the little red circle badge letting you know the number of notifications?
  • Only checking emails at designated times of the day?
I hope 2022 ends on a positive and healthy note for you and 2023 starts out the same.

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