Less clutter, less noise.
Less clutter, more joy.
Less clutter, less stress.
Part of the problem with clutter is the lack of a plan on how to address it.
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Blessed by less.
Simplify your life to have less and enjoy more.
Consider this? The Sunday edition of the New York Times carries more information than the average nineteenth century citizen accessed in his entire life! Information used to be as rare and precious as gold: now it is so inexpensive and plentiful that most of it ends up overlooked, trashed or deleted.
I will be leading a staff discussion next week on communication clutter. Pastor Jeff came back from a conference a while back and handed me a book; "Here, I thought you'd enjoy this book (Less Clutter. Less Noise by Kem Meyer). I went to her worship and she was terrific!" I looked at the book, looked at Jeff and wondered if this was a direct hit on my work style. But you know, I devoured that book! Years ago I read the book Plain and Simple by Sue Bender and it too resonated with me. Using the Amish lifestyle as the example, it talked about simplifying. Apparently this is a life theme I need to hear!
One piece that fascinates me is how the different generations respond to and access information.
The challenge, if you want to reach people, is significant. If communication matters...
The Silent Generation (1925-1945) likes chain of command, letters, face to face communication & landlines
Baby Boomers (1946-1964) like group work, email, social media, fax, voicemail, cell phones
Gen Xers (1961-1981) like texting, hate group work, like to work alone, don't like voicemail, and email is ok
Millenials/Gen Y (1981-2001) like social media, dislike email, like to text, don't have landlines, have security concerns, take selfies
Gen Z (born after 2001) like honesty, prefer immediate responses, but are ‘connected’ by phone every waking hour and most even take their phone to bed. This generation is not yet part of the adult workforce.
If communication matters… how do we reach all these generations with the same message? How do I communicate with my grandkids? I work with quite a few young people (20's, 30's). I know if I want a response I must text them. This took a while to 'catch on to' and at first it irked me. It took a while to realize if I wanted to reach them, I would have to do it their way. We have many 70-90 year olds in the church and we have had to adjust and be sympathetic to their communication style. Reaching 5 generations at once is a challenge. I hope to generate some good conversation on the topic this week.
And you? What is your preferred communication style? Does it fit the generational pattern?
Honestly? Our life is cluttered now. Things change. You can complain about the changes and what’s lost (and I particularly bemoan the end of thoughtful letter writing), but you might as well be lamenting the end of buggy whip manufacturing. How do we take the bombard of our current day communication ambush and make it work for us? Please let me know if you figure it out.