Tag Archives: emails

Checking Emails: A Fun Pastime, or a Pesky Chore?

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Sending emails is one of those things that you either love or hate. I happen to love checking my email, and I find it really satisfying to see zero new messages.

My mom is the same way; she’s very prompt and timely with her email responses. However, I have many friends and family members who shall remain unnamed, who let their emails pile up for months and months, and never end up getting to them. They have the dreaded “two thousand six hundred and forty two” number in their inbox, and a stream of spam mail that never seems to end. This. Is. My. Worst. Nightmare.

I absolutely hate letting emails sit in my inbox, unattended to. In fact, I actually obsessively check my emails, multiple times a day. If I had to guess how many times I do so, I would guess roughly around 10-15 times a day. Admittedly, this is a bit excessive.

I think my love reading and responding to emails stems from the fact that I love checking off list items. It makes me feel less anxious when I can see that I completed a task. Marking an email as “read” seems like I am completing something. I also think that checking emails serves as a form of procrastination for me, because often when I don’t want to start studying for a stats quiz (which is the case as I type this) or when I don’t want to finish a final paper (also the case right now) I check emails because somehow it still feels productive. Not allowing emails to pile up also makes me feel more in control of work and school, because it means that I am taking on tasks as they come rather than letting them get out of hand.

The good news for me, is that most jobs require one to check emails somewhat regularly. However, I do think my hatred of “unread messages” could also indicate some of my school and workplace flaws: I sometimes prioritize small, concrete, logistical tasks in place of more important long-term tasks. In addition, I also think I need to learn how to leave things unread, both literally and figuratively. In other words I need to be able to sit with the anxiety that comes with being a little less rigid in some areas of my life.

Another piece of good news is that even though many jobs require sending many emails a day, not all do, and if you’re someone who hates the thought of even having to press the “send” button more than once a day, than perhaps you can find a job that is light on email-sending. Or in the case of someone like me, you could try to find a job that is mostly comprised of sending emails, but that contains zero spreadsheets or calculations, which are words that send my mood plummeting.

As with anything in life, it is good to set manageable goals. Right now, one of my goals is to check my email less—perhaps 5 times a day instead of 15. For many people, checking emails is an evil necessity, but I hope to convince others that it is actually a very wonderful source of procrastination. 

PERMs, Scheduling, and Coveted Classes

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At the beginning of the semester, everyone is frantically trying to get into the classes they want, rearranging their schedules, and PERMing into classes they want to be in. This process is chaotic, and can be one of the most stressful times of the semester.

Sometimes, you’re trying ot get into classes that you need for you major, or are trying to get into a class with a certain professor. All of this organizing and reorganizing of classes can be overwhelming, but I had a friend once tell me that you should go to the schedule you want, not the schedule you have. What I’ve learned is that this could not be more true. In all of my experiences as a student at the 5Cs, I have learned that if you want a class, showing up is the most important step to getting in. PERMing into a class you want is the first step, but it takes the extra step of actually going to the class on the first day to solidify, in the professor’s eyes, your desire to take it.

This semester, there was a class at Pitzer that I really wanted to get into, but it was only open to Pitzer students and I decided that the best way for me to get in was to PERM as early as possible. As soon as I read the course description, I knew that the class would be a great experience and PERMed right the and there. Even though it was very early and arguably too early to PERM, as no one had even registered for the course yet, I knew that I would show as one of the first PERMs and knew that that would help me secure a spot in the class. A few days after registration had opened up for all students, the professor emailed everyone who had PERMed into the class and asked us to come to a meeting so that he could discuss some of the details of the class and give us more of a feel for what we could expect. Only about fifteen people showed up to the meeting, which my professor later noted made his decision about who would be in the class a lot easier, and there were only ten spots open in the class. The professor did tell those of us who were chosen to be in the class, that having a meeting, seeing who actually showed up was the biggest factor in how he chose the ten of us who are now in the class because he didn’t pick anyone who didn’t show up at the meeting.

Last semester, there was a history class at CMC that I really wanted to take and was one of over twenty PERMs, but I emailed the professor and made a case for myself, asking if she thought there might be room after the first day. When I showed up to class that day, there were only about fifteen people, and she ended up accepting my PERM because I had come to class.

Long story short, emailing professors, PERMing into classes, but most importantly, showing up to the classes you want on the first day is so important if you are not registered for a particular course and would like to be. It’s worked for every class I wanted to get into but wasn’t yet registered for. Best of luck to you all!