Have you ever had the experience of wondering if you are missing something important? Have you ever been concerned that other people are doing something that you need to know? Have you ever had a potential heart attack when you noticed that your phone is in another room and you may have missed a call or text? Welcome to FOMO – the fear of missing out. It drives people to constantly check their messages and social media feeds to see if important things are happening around them. Most often nothing is, but the fear drives people to compulsively worry about it!

The folks who developed Basecamp understand this concern. That is why they propose living your life in a state of JOMO – the joy of missing out. As they describe in their book, It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy to Work Here, authors Jason Fried and David Hansson share the philosophy of JOMO on pages 70-71.

People should be missing out! Most people should miss out on most things most of the time. That’s what we try to encourage at Basecamp. JOMO! The joy of missing out.

Later on they clarify why it is a part of their company’s culture:

Because there’s absolutely no reason everyone needs to attempt to know everything that’s going on at our company. And especially not in real time! If it’s important, you’ll find out. And most of it isn’t. Most of the day-to-day work inside a company’s walls is mundane. And that’s a beautiful thing. It’s work, it’s not news.

I invite you to give it try. Resolve to focus only on what is truly important in your job and life. Let the Twitter feeds and gossip slide by without a second glance. Give it a week then see if you feel more relaxed and focused. If so, then you are now living the JOMO lifestyle!