Back in 1995, when I first signed up for AOL, checking my inbox made me happy as a kid on Christmas morning.
“You’ve got mail!”
Those three little words were enough to make my day. Email was exciting. It was fast. It was new. Every message felt like someone had taken a moment out of their day to say, “Hey...I was thinking about you!”
Fast forward thirty years. After one too many corporate jobs and more than half a lifetime of emails, opening my inbox sometimes feels about as fun as cleaning a public restroom.
So many sales, scams, and spams. Somewhere along the way, the joy disappeared.
Lately, I’ve caught myself heading down the same road with Substack.
When I first joined and started posting on Substack in 2024, I subscribed to everyone who seemed remotely interesting. Friends. Artists. Historians. Journalists. Photographers. Smart people. Funny people. Thoughtful people.
At first, it was wonderful.
Then my reading list became...more aspirational than realistic.
Before long, I found myself feeling guilty for not keeping up. I’d made a rookie mistake. I’d turned Substack into homework. Somewhere along the way, I confused “I get to read this” with “I have to read this.”
Those are two very different things.
Every newsletter in my inbox represents someone who spent their talent and time to make something worth sharing. I want to read it because I’m genuinely interested, not because I feel guilty if I don’t.
A few years ago, productivity gurus couldn’t stop talking about “Inbox Zero.” Despite the name, it was never really about having zero emails. It was about reclaiming your attention from the endless stream of incoming stuff.
I think the same idea applies to Substack.
I don’t need to get to “Inbox Zero.” At this point in my life, I’d settle for “Inbox Sane.”
I’m not trying to subscribe to every brilliant creator on the platform. There are simply too many brilliant writers here for that. Personally, I’m trying to subscribe to enough people that I can actually appreciate what they’re creating.
So I’ve started pruning my subscriptions, and I’ll probably keep pruning.
Not because the writing isn’t good.
Not because I don’t respect the author.
Simply because not every newsletter is meant for me.
There’s a huge difference.
I’d rather eagerly read twenty newsletters than dutifully skim a hundred. I’d rather leave a thoughtful comment because I genuinely have something to say instead of clicking the little heart out of guilt.
So if I quietly disappear from your subscriber list one day, please don’t take it personally.
I’m not unsubscribing because your work isn’t worth reading.
I’m unsubscribing because it is.
I’d rather give twenty writers my full attention than a hundred writers a guilty skim.
Life is too short to turn joy into obligation.
More than thirty years after getting my first email, I’ve realized I’m not chasing an empty inbox. I’m chasing the feeling I had when AOL announced, “You’ve got mail!”
That’s how I want opening Substack to feel. Today and always…
Keep calm and read on!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. If you'd like to start fresh with your Substack inbox, I recommend this Reddit thread, which explains how to clear out all those old posts and declutter your archive.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
07-16 = Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) = American actor, model, and dancer 🌈
07-16 = Chad Griffin (1973- ) = American political strategist 🌈
07-16 = Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990) = Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright 🌈
07-16 = Tony Kushner (1956- ) = American playwright and screenwriter 🌈
MAN CRUSHES OF THE DAY
“Trees have a secret life that is only revealed to those willing to climb them.”
Reinaldo Arenas
“I love reading; it’s a great way to avoid writing.”
Tony Kushner
Yuppers Brian it can all get a bit 🥴😵💫 Ya need to be ruthless with the kill switch. Cheers DougT 🏴🇬🇧
I am totally with you on this, my friend. I have learned which writers get my constant attention, which get occasional views, and which get quickly deleted. (yours get read, every single one) I have to deal with an over emphasis on the left brain, which somehow gets a rush of satisfaction from the message, “you are all done. “☺️