The Outlook App Is Out (Again)

Tonight, I’m having a little trouble disconnecting from work.

The anxiety is light but lingering… definitely self-inflicted. I made the classic mistake: I checked my email after hours. I know better. I talk about work-life balance. I believe in it. But tonight, I didn’t practice it. And now, here I am, spiraling a little about a message that’s probably not a big deal… but because it came from someone I don’t work with often, I’m overanalyzing every word.

So instead of unwinding, I found myself doom scrolling, jumping from app to app hoping something would distract me or calm my brain.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

Mini data break: A 2022 study published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior found that doom scrolling is linked to higher levels of stress, anxiety, and poor sleep quality…basically everything I’m trying to avoid.

And yet… we all do it, right? We doom scroll hoping to numb the anxiousness or feel a little connection, when what we really need is to redirect that energy. I could’ve read a book. Worked on my cookbook (still in progress!). Played a game with my husband. Done literally anything else.

So I’m writing this instead… giving myself a little credit for pausing the scroll and choosing something more productive.

But let’s back up to the bigger question:

Why did I check my email in the first place?

Was it urgent? No.

Was someone’s life hanging in the balance? Definitely not.

Could it have waited until tomorrow when I’m actually back at work? Yep.

This habit of always being “on” is a flaw I constantly work on. I go in waves… sometimes I’m great at drawing boundaries. Sometimes I slip. But tonight was a reminder: It’s okay to delete the Outlook app from my phone again for a while. It’s okay to protect my peace.

Another data note: According to Gallup’s 2023 report, 44% of employees globally say they experience workplace stress daily. Burnout isn’t a maybe - it’s a real and rising problem when we don’t set boundaries.

So I’m deleting the app. Again. For me, but also for the people around me: my coworkers, my

company, and the team I lead. Because if I burn out, I can’t show up as the person, or leader, I want to be.

Here’s to relearning boundaries. Again and again… and again if needed.

Logging off (for real this time),

-CC