I’m Insane: It Says So In My eMail

Ancient test of insanity:

Subjects are present with a pond and given a bucket to drain the pond. Those that start bailing water out of the pond are deemed insane. Those who first divert the stream feeding the pond are deemed sane.

I’ve never had to drain a pond. And I actually think I’m good enough with water and trenching that I could get the pond drained. And I would probably think to divert the stream. . .maybe.

But, that’s not why I’ve decided I’m insane.

First, let me point out that I am not making light of mental illness. My sister suffered from bipolar II. I have other family members who struggle with it. So, not that kind of insanity.

Just the average run-of-the-mill insane like a guy who keeps trying to use a bucket to empty a river.

Working from home, I spend most of my day sitting in front of my computer. I’m not alone, of course. I’m logged into Microsoft Teams. I have three different phones that I use throughout the day. I send and receive texts. And, of course, I have email. . .lots and lots of email.

In fact, I get so much email that I sometimes play a game to help motivate me to get through it. I’ll write down the number of unread and total emails with a time next to it, say 8:00. Then, I’ll focus on my email, using it as a very inefficient task list. At 8:30, I’ll again record how many total and unread emails I have and start on the next half hour stretch. The goal is keep the trend going down. It never gets to zero, of course. I mean, that would be crazy right?

Last night when I went to bed, the numbers were 62 unread and 80 total email. This morning I had to work through outages and meetings. I didn’t get to start on the email. And like an unrelenting stream, it kept coming in. At noon it was 137 unread, 156 total. By 4:00 it was. at 173/190. It currently sits at 177/194.

I have some maintenance that I need to login for tonight. So, I’ll sit in front of my computer some more. And I’ll work through my emails. I’m hoping I can at least get them back down to the 62/80 I was at last night. In addition to the test of insanity, there’s a definition too.

Definition of insanity: Repeating the same action and expecting a different result

Yep, I’m totally insane.

Stay safe

Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.

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