Mick Jagger meets Flow

 

Mick Jagger meets Flow

Is there anything that gets in the way of the "flow" like email?  The sound goes and/or the little envelope shows up at the bottom of the screen...and boom, you check it and concentration is shot.  It has been driving me nuts the past few weeks.

 

Enter Merlin of 43 Folders, a wonderful site on personal productivity.  Merlin regularly urges us to simply turn off email, allotting certain times of the day only to check and follow up on email.  I've been doing just that the past week.  Turn it on in the morning, respond to urgencies, turn it off most of the morning, check it mid day, than again around 3 and once more before I go home.  That's it.  Amazing. 

 

This bit of personal revelation happened chronologically near the spectacle of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones doing the halftime show at last weekend's Super Bowl.  Having come of age in the late 60s, the Stones' music is pretty well embedded in my psyche and seeing the group again (ancient though they are...gee, did Mick, never a handsome man, look bad in the close ups or what??) triggered an odd burst of creative (and probably misdirected) energy.  So, here's a new set of lyrics to their staple "Paint It Black".  My apologies, but here goes:

 

The voice says "you have mail" I want to turn it off.

Demanding all my thoughts I want to turn it off.

Projects sit and languish as I wonder what to write,

Bcc or just cc, it's all a foolish sight. 

 

I can't think anymore, I want to turn it off.

Distractions all day long, I want to turn it off.

Thinking deep is not allowed; it just takes way too long.

"Reply now" or lose the chance to ever be profound. 

 

Banks from Nigeria are sure to send me cash

My number's all they need, I'll soon have me a stash.

Spammers come but they don't go, they just keep bustin' through

Email's free, at least to them, but the cost is all on you!

 

I wanna see you turn it, turn it,

Turn it off.   Shut it down. Walk away.

The world will be just fine.  For a time.  Hey!.

Turn if, turn it, turn it, turn it off.   Yeah.

 

(Instrumental portion, with nasal-like humming sounds here)

 

(Fade.  )

 

Yeah, well, enjoy.  Turning off email really is a good idea, even if my lyrics are not.