When we think of clutter we typically think of a home closet or an office right? But there’s another area we must be careful of clutter — Social media. Everyone has asked you to “like” their page, follow them on twitter, connect on google+, subscribe to their YouTube, come Pin with them on Pinterest, link up at LinkedIn, add-friend on Facebook, follow on Instagram and sign-up for the newsletter and subscribe to every blog post right? I understand. I’m even asking you to do some of that with what I offer. I’d love for you to do all of those things but ONLY if I’m offering what you need. Yes, I know that goes against all social media standards but I believe you should only engage what is best for you.

Often times people sign up, follow and subscribe for two primary reasons: 1. They have met someone or have been told about that person and they click on all of their social media or 2. They have been asked by that person to follow, tweet, subscribe and more.  The latter is more dominant. Most of the time people follow and subscribe because they’ve been asked or because the person follows all of their social media and they feel compelled to oblige them in return.

Here’s what happens – you have an inbox full of emails that you’ll never read. You have pages on your Facebook you’ll never visit. You have people on your twitter page you won’t connect with.  You may have subscribed to or followed information that is informative and valuable but may not be for YOU in this season of your life so it’s not of importance and therefore you won’t make it a priority to engage with the person or the content they offer. So the question becomes why follow it?

Let yourself off the hook. It’s alright not to follow, subscribe or link-up. Visit the person, take a few moments and read what they offer and if it’s not of interest, leave them a kind comment or message them with appreciation for inviting you to their site or social media and let them know (genuinely) that you’ll keep note of their information for future need or if not, perhaps consider sharing their link one time with others but don’t get bogged down in what you don’t need and can’t commit to at this time.  Social media has great benefits but remember clutter blocks your creativity and brings unnecessary stress and doesn’t leave room for the people and connections God wants to bring into your life.

In a world where less people are engaged in verbal communication and more are engaged in technological communication, it’s so important to concentrate on making genuine connections with people more than just adding follows. Your time is precious so all that you do counts.  Now, go through your inbox and start the de-clutter process and do it without guilt. I think I may join you.

Cheering you on!

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