Subscribing is about personal interests and priorities. Some weeks I try to skim and read all, some weeks I don't. Sometimes I take quick notes (with pen and paper!) and delete the emails. It is good to have a reading strategy. I like Alan Jacobs's (https://blog.ayjay.org/this-and-that/) "don't-read-later" idea:
"Whenever I see something online that I think I want to read, I put it in Instapaper — and then I try to leave it for a while. Often when I visit Instapaper the chief thing I do is delete the pieces I only had thought I needed to read. So for me it’s not just a read-later service, it’s a don’t-read-later service. But that only works if I don’t go there too often. I try to catch up with my Instapaper queue once a week at most."
Thank you for mentioning me and SS, Tania! 🙌🏼 And it’s good to know I’m not the only one getting overwhelmed after subscribing to too many newsletters in and out Substack 😂 I always wondered how people can keep up with reading all of them, but I guess I found my answer: nobody can!
I love and relate to every bit of this, Tania. Insightful and delightful as always. I read our Substack Go group’s newsletters and about 3-5 others. And I definitely need to unsubscribe to the aspirational ones I never open 😉
I'll have to count how many Substacks I subscribe to, but I read almost all of them. If I find myself deleting one without opening it for a few weeks in a row, I do go in and unsubscribe. I'm fastidious about my inbox -- I don't strive for Inbox Zero, but I do myself the favor of getting rid of anything that's noisy, or turns into noise. It's just part of my digital hygiene -- but I've come to view it as a gift to myself.
Also: I turned off notifications for Unsubscribes. I recommend it.
I'll tell you why I subscribe to a lot of other SS newsletters. I'm not only a reader on SS, I'm also a creator on SS so I subscribe to dozens to support other creators in my field, books & reading. I also subscribe to dozens of others that interest me for many different reasons. Many of the newsletters I subscribe to post 1-3 times a month, so it really isn't overwhelming. Also, this is just me as other readers may not do the same, but I click the heart on every newsletter I open so the creator "feels seen" and I also use the "heart" to indicate that I have read the newsletter issue. Sometimes if I find a newsletter I really enjoy, I will work on reading the back list and by clicking the heart, that tells me that I've read it before. Just my .02 cents.
I’d appreciate your mutual subscribing to my Substack “Notes from a Old Drummer”
Glad to know, I am not the only one!
Subscribing is about personal interests and priorities. Some weeks I try to skim and read all, some weeks I don't. Sometimes I take quick notes (with pen and paper!) and delete the emails. It is good to have a reading strategy. I like Alan Jacobs's (https://blog.ayjay.org/this-and-that/) "don't-read-later" idea:
"Whenever I see something online that I think I want to read, I put it in Instapaper — and then I try to leave it for a while. Often when I visit Instapaper the chief thing I do is delete the pieces I only had thought I needed to read. So for me it’s not just a read-later service, it’s a don’t-read-later service. But that only works if I don’t go there too often. I try to catch up with my Instapaper queue once a week at most."
Thank you for mentioning me and SS, Tania! 🙌🏼 And it’s good to know I’m not the only one getting overwhelmed after subscribing to too many newsletters in and out Substack 😂 I always wondered how people can keep up with reading all of them, but I guess I found my answer: nobody can!
I love and relate to every bit of this, Tania. Insightful and delightful as always. I read our Substack Go group’s newsletters and about 3-5 others. And I definitely need to unsubscribe to the aspirational ones I never open 😉
I'll have to count how many Substacks I subscribe to, but I read almost all of them. If I find myself deleting one without opening it for a few weeks in a row, I do go in and unsubscribe. I'm fastidious about my inbox -- I don't strive for Inbox Zero, but I do myself the favor of getting rid of anything that's noisy, or turns into noise. It's just part of my digital hygiene -- but I've come to view it as a gift to myself.
Also: I turned off notifications for Unsubscribes. I recommend it.
I'll tell you why I subscribe to a lot of other SS newsletters. I'm not only a reader on SS, I'm also a creator on SS so I subscribe to dozens to support other creators in my field, books & reading. I also subscribe to dozens of others that interest me for many different reasons. Many of the newsletters I subscribe to post 1-3 times a month, so it really isn't overwhelming. Also, this is just me as other readers may not do the same, but I click the heart on every newsletter I open so the creator "feels seen" and I also use the "heart" to indicate that I have read the newsletter issue. Sometimes if I find a newsletter I really enjoy, I will work on reading the back list and by clicking the heart, that tells me that I've read it before. Just my .02 cents.