Back when I ran Noisecreep for AOL Music (2008-2011), the incoming email never stopped. I’d tend to emails till midnight, then wake up to my inbox.
I remember the first day after I left, and I went for a hike and felt such a relief from the inbox.
It’s now 2025, and my freelance work email is very tolerable. I am blessed to have a handful of clients who pay well and don’t email me throughout the day, so that’s great.
Back in 2021 I stared Social Media Escape Club, because I just wanted to talk to more about leaving social media. In 2023 I decided I’d start hosting Zoom calls to talk to even more folks, (virtually) face to face!
Now I’ve got a good problem – an inbox filled with messages from people revolving around the work I want to do.
As I just quoted American theatre and opera director Anne Bogart, “a good omen is ‘a moment when the world seems to answer you back. It is not a guarantee of success, but a charged sign that your attention, your desire, and the circumstances have aligned in a way that invites you to proceed – more awake, more responsible, and more brave.'”
I’ve acknowledged the all of the good energy around this, “is not a guarantee of success,” but now I am “more awake, more responsible, and more brave,” and that’s all I want.