I have the best problem in the world

[liv]

Too many friends. I owe 25 urgent emails, and I'm not even starting to count the ones I should write to keep in touch with people I care about, but there isn't a reason they need to be sent this week (if not last). A couple of these emails are tricky, cos they involve being sympathetic over troubles that friends are going through. But most of them I want to write, and I will enjoy writing them, and this evening has been the only oasis when I had time to make a start on them in a period of several weeks.

The sheer number of them intimidates me so much that what do I do instead of writing them? Displace with silly internet things that are actually less fun than writing emails. And fiddle with my LJ friendslist, because I have too many virtual friends as well as too many real friends. I've cut a few people, mostly Support people I don't really interact with these days, plus a few people I met at social gatherings, and liked, and never quite managed to form a relationship with by the expedient of reading eachother's journals. Nobody got removed because they have offended me or because I don't like them. (There's a constant drama-free defriending amnesty in operation here, by the way; I am absolutely not going to take offence if my journal isn't a regular read these days.) Of course, then I went and added a bunch of new people I've been intending to get to know, so I haven't made the situation any better.

I have a feeling that what I need to do is set up "appointments" to talk to people in real time, phone or IM, at least for those who like that sort of communication. I am much better at finding the motivation to talk to a friend for a couple of hours, than at finding the motivation to ignore the shiny internet and write emails for the same sort of period. Does anyone have any good suggestions for being organized about this kind of thing in the face of geography?

Comments

[redbird]

If you find any suggestions, please let me know. (Even with geography more in my favor, I have trouble keeping up with the people I want to.)

[cheshyre]

I have the same problem about sending personal emails.
Weirdly enough, I get writers block about saying the right thing.

We just created a Chore Wars account, mostly to help my husband stay on track, but I'm creating an "adventure" for "sending email that's owed" to see if that helps...

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

If you have a laptop, take it (download emails onto it if necessary) somewhere offline (e.g. a park). Then you can write emails without being distracted by the Internet.

If you don't, remove the ethernet cable from your desktop and put it somewhere you can't easily reconnect it (if necessary leave it at work overnight); you'll get the same effect.

As you know, long train journeys provide me with an excellent opportunity for catching up on emails.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have any good suggestions for being organized about this kind of thing in the face of geography?

I'm afraid not, because the ways I handle it myself, looked at objectively, appear rather more obsessive-compulsive than I feel comfortable actually recommending. [ The bit of the back of my brain that says "Sleep is for the weak" can shut up right now, not least because it's been having its own way far too much this past fortnight. ]

[hatam-soferet.livejournal.com]

I'm drowning in paperwork here - got both a real and a virtual inbox full of Things That Need Dealing With. Some of them are important, like banking stuff.