Overwhelmed by Texts and Emails? Here’s the Solution.

The primitive part of our brains are about 650 million years old and the newer part (our prefrontal cortex) is about 350 million years old. We need to be aware of the very valuable but “old” wiring in our brains so we can work with it instead of being controlled by it.

While we don’t have sabertooth tigers threatening our safety in 2023, we do have text messages, emails, and calls which can feel just as “dangerous.” 

This week I’ve had more calls, texts, and emails than usual and my brain is treating them like they’re life-or-death important. They are important and I will get back to the sender ASAP, but I don’t want to keep reinforcing the lie my primitive brain is telling me that, “my life is in danger and I need to get back to them as fast as possible or ‘something bad’ will happen!!”

When you get a ping or notification of an incoming message, start to practice noticing it like you would a cool fall breeze. There’s no need to respond immediately even if someone else thinks you should. You’ve likely trained your brain that every ping is an emergency and with practice you can rewire it so it’s less reactive.

By not jumping and responding each time your phone or computer dings you’re showing your brain that you are safe in the moment and don’t have to take immediate action. Very few of us have professions that legit require us to be ready to jump but we’ve created an unhelpful pattern that can easily be tweaked.

You got this Sunshine and I’ve got your back!