Obsessive Email Checkers Anonymous

Hi, my name is Ilana, I am a Race Director, and I am an obsessive email checker.

I do not know if this is a phenomenon amongst other race directors or if it's just my own brand of crazy. But, after something public happens related to any of our events such as an email was sent out, or a Facebook mention on something huge (like we got this morning on A Million Cool Things To Do In Seattle for Get a Clue which has over 19,000 likes on Facebook), or registration opening or an ad hitting, or whatever it is; I obsessively check my email for race registrations thinking, naively, that this one thing will make people want to sign up instantly.

After something like this hits I rush to my email, with high hopes, like a kid on Christmas morning, expecting my inbox to be filled to capacity with registration confirmation emails. Sometimes this happens, but most times people sign up at the most random times.

I also find that on days I think would make people think about running outside, like a particularly sunny winter day, or a warmer than normal spring day, that people would sign up on days like that. But, alas, it is usually the really nasty weather days that gets the most sign ups. Perhaps like me, everyone is already outside on days like that and not surfing the web looking for races to sign up for.

So, on days like today I feel like I should start my own support group of obsessive email checkers. I have one of those email programs that automatically updates when a new email comes in, yet I think that if I hit refresh they will magically appear faster than if I had not.

I check it first thing when I wake up and the last thing before bed.

Thank god for Smartphones, or else I would never leave my office!

Even just now, while writing this post, I must have absent-mindedly checked my email about 5 times.

Please, get me some help!