Harriet, this is gorgeous and honest. My perspective is that the energy behind everything matters so so much. I tend to overestimate what I think I can consume in a week or a month, and this leads to chronic oversubscribing, over committing and eventual over-rotating. My life always includes moments where I have to pull my attention back to myself. It's never (well, rarely) about the content, but more about me knowing my limits while trying to curate an algorithm that adds value to ME vs. me adding that tiny little "+1" to someone else's subscriber count.
Harriet; I really loved this and thank you for sharing!! I turned off all emails that show me unsubscribes not only because I- like you- want to give people the freedom to do that but I also don’t want to doubt myself or my work when someone needs that space. It’s hard not to take it personally. I also have experienced that burn out of following people, subscribing or even paying for people as part of a “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”
I also got over that at the beginning of this year. I’ve been writing for nearly 2 years and I’ve learned to interact with the stuff that I need in that moment; which isn’t going to be everything!
I’m very new to Substack, and I have to admit that I initially approached it like any other social media platform. I subscribed to tons of newsletters, hoping for follow-backs and trying to come up with a strategy… blablabla. The worst part is, I know this mindset could lead to burnout.
But I started my Substack for me, especially for the writer in me. So yes, it’s time to unsubscribe from newsletters that may have a beautiful style, but don’t really align with mine. Because it’s adding noise that I really need to reduce.
Thank you for inspiring me to make the right choice, to protect my creativity and keep it sane. ❤️”
There is were so many beautiful sentences and ideas in here, and I especially love this one: All I can do is write. Whatever, whenever it feels good to do so. What i’m working towards is writing without expectation. It’s a reminder I needed today, thank you for writing this ❤️
I really appreciate your transparency around this! Since Substack is so community-driven, it feels like there's more pressure to subscribe and engage than on other platforms. I have a high tolerance for fashion content consumption, but at some point I hit a wall and switched off newsletter emails because my inbox was overflowing. Figuring out my must-read newsletters, engaging through Notes, and doing more following than subscribing has helped me manage my consumption limits better.
I struggle with this myself. I am just now reading nearly two months later because I have a whole bunch of Substack posts that I have saved for when I have a few hours to catch up.
There is an app called Unroll.me, where you can choose one of three actions about every list you're on, keep, block, or rollup. Keep goes to your inbox, block unsubscribes you, and rollup lets you get a once-a-day compilation of all the day's rollups. So you don't have to unsubscribe from someone you're trying to support, but you can get it rolled up so you decide whether you have the bandwidth to read it that day.
I am oversubscribed to Substacks, because I want to read all the things, and it's where I get both my news and inspiration these days. They pile up on me, and then I feel like I should have read them when they were most relevant. I go through and clean out the pile at least once a week, although I still have too many saved to read. I appreciate the struggle and knowing that I am not alone. At least the posts come in via my inbox, and then I have the choice of what to do with them, vs. having Facebook or Instagram decide for me. I'm old school that way -- I want the email.
I found out that I "kept" 1019; "blocked" 906, and "rolled up" 633. Often one entity segments you into a bunch of different lists (I work in the nonprofit world, and that happens a lot), but I still feel good about how many I have rolled up and blocked, that it outnumbers the ones I have kept. Every once in a while I move something from keep to roll up, and roll up to blocked. But it's still so much to manage.
Beautifully written, and totally resonates! I’ve been finding myself overwhelmed on this platform lately, but feel guilt over unsubscribing. I want to support others’ writing, but I also feel people’s work is getting lost in the sea of subscriptions and I can’t possibly keep up with it all.
Harriet, this is gorgeous and honest. My perspective is that the energy behind everything matters so so much. I tend to overestimate what I think I can consume in a week or a month, and this leads to chronic oversubscribing, over committing and eventual over-rotating. My life always includes moments where I have to pull my attention back to myself. It's never (well, rarely) about the content, but more about me knowing my limits while trying to curate an algorithm that adds value to ME vs. me adding that tiny little "+1" to someone else's subscriber count.
Thanks so much Jennifer yes that’s exactly it Xx
Harriet; I really loved this and thank you for sharing!! I turned off all emails that show me unsubscribes not only because I- like you- want to give people the freedom to do that but I also don’t want to doubt myself or my work when someone needs that space. It’s hard not to take it personally. I also have experienced that burn out of following people, subscribing or even paying for people as part of a “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”
I also got over that at the beginning of this year. I’ve been writing for nearly 2 years and I’ve learned to interact with the stuff that I need in that moment; which isn’t going to be everything!
Kelly you’re support always blows me away. Thank you so much for your kindness x
I’m very new to Substack, and I have to admit that I initially approached it like any other social media platform. I subscribed to tons of newsletters, hoping for follow-backs and trying to come up with a strategy… blablabla. The worst part is, I know this mindset could lead to burnout.
But I started my Substack for me, especially for the writer in me. So yes, it’s time to unsubscribe from newsletters that may have a beautiful style, but don’t really align with mine. Because it’s adding noise that I really need to reduce.
Thank you for inspiring me to make the right choice, to protect my creativity and keep it sane. ❤️”
Love this so much! And welcome to Substack 🥰
There is were so many beautiful sentences and ideas in here, and I especially love this one: All I can do is write. Whatever, whenever it feels good to do so. What i’m working towards is writing without expectation. It’s a reminder I needed today, thank you for writing this ❤️
Thank you Lindsay 😘
I really appreciate your transparency around this! Since Substack is so community-driven, it feels like there's more pressure to subscribe and engage than on other platforms. I have a high tolerance for fashion content consumption, but at some point I hit a wall and switched off newsletter emails because my inbox was overflowing. Figuring out my must-read newsletters, engaging through Notes, and doing more following than subscribing has helped me manage my consumption limits better.
Thanks Tina x
Thank you for writing and publishing this piece. I enjoy the thought process, and it's inspiring!
Thanks so much Ardas
I struggle with this myself. I am just now reading nearly two months later because I have a whole bunch of Substack posts that I have saved for when I have a few hours to catch up.
There is an app called Unroll.me, where you can choose one of three actions about every list you're on, keep, block, or rollup. Keep goes to your inbox, block unsubscribes you, and rollup lets you get a once-a-day compilation of all the day's rollups. So you don't have to unsubscribe from someone you're trying to support, but you can get it rolled up so you decide whether you have the bandwidth to read it that day.
I am oversubscribed to Substacks, because I want to read all the things, and it's where I get both my news and inspiration these days. They pile up on me, and then I feel like I should have read them when they were most relevant. I go through and clean out the pile at least once a week, although I still have too many saved to read. I appreciate the struggle and knowing that I am not alone. At least the posts come in via my inbox, and then I have the choice of what to do with them, vs. having Facebook or Instagram decide for me. I'm old school that way -- I want the email.
I need to check out this app!x
I found out that I "kept" 1019; "blocked" 906, and "rolled up" 633. Often one entity segments you into a bunch of different lists (I work in the nonprofit world, and that happens a lot), but I still feel good about how many I have rolled up and blocked, that it outnumbers the ones I have kept. Every once in a while I move something from keep to roll up, and roll up to blocked. But it's still so much to manage.
Beautifully written, and totally resonates! I’ve been finding myself overwhelmed on this platform lately, but feel guilt over unsubscribing. I want to support others’ writing, but I also feel people’s work is getting lost in the sea of subscriptions and I can’t possibly keep up with it all.
Thanks Reiko ❤️
Loved reading this, totally resonated with me :)
Thanks Tracy
Loved this - and wholeheartedly agree.