This outside of the government talk, however I felt the need to share my little experience since it helped me out.
Last week my family and I moved into our new home. We’ve been looking forward to it’s completion for several months now. I spent from Wed to this morning being completely disconnected from work, personal email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. OK…that’s a bit of a lie. I wasn’t completely disconnected but, for me, posting two tweets, and deleting 13 non-essential work emails on Wed evening from my BlackBerry is considered disconnected. For those of you know me well, I’m hardly every disconnected.
So being “disconnected” gave me time to not only work on unpacking and spend time with my family, but it helped me to take a well needed break from all the electronics in my life and really feel relaxed for the first time in a long while. I was able to spend the entire weekend “regenerating” my brain. Regenerating isn’t always about “doing nothing” but rather doing something that is different from your norm. For me, spending 8 hours at work in front of the screen coding, and then another few hours at home doing personal stuff can really be a brain drain. Moving furniture, boxes, unpacking, and dealing with a house of peanut styrofoam and bubble wrap is certainly different from my norm but it was well needed.
Now that I’m back in the office, I’m refreshed and ready to “reconnect” with “the tubes” and my 100+ emails that with deadlines of yesterday. Normally, I might feel a little overwhelmed with a workload in front of me like that, but today, I’m feeling relaxed and ready to take on the day. In fact, I’m so relaxed I felt compelled to share my thoughts with all of you.
So, you owe to yourselves as professionals to occasionally disconnect, regenerate, and reconnect. I know it’s hard to do, but it does provide great benefits to your mental and physical health. So go ahead! Disconnect, Regenerate, and Reconnect.
Note: This post is of my own personal opinion and is not endorsed or supported by any local, state, or federal government agency.
Agreed – sometimes it’s best to just turn off the iPhone or Blackberry and put it away. I think computer users are more productive when they take breaks, like you did. Go walk around the block or get a cup of coffee.
Limited internet connectivity is also useful. When I was writing my book, I was most productive outside of the home, away from my TV, stereo and fast internet connection. The slow and intermittent wifi of the neighborhood coffee shop was perfect for my needs. It worked just barely, so I could check my email, but the slow speed discouraged any more entertaining uses of the web. I wrote about what my day was like when I was writing:
http://joeflood.com/2008/12/11/one-writers-day/
I agree with both of you. In today’s world we are always expected to be able to respond within mintues. I spent a weekend at the beach last month with limited access to all my “digital outlets,” and came back quiet refreshed.
I use the auto-off feature on my BB’s so that after 8pm I am not tempted to read the lastest emails (okay, I am tempted, but not enough to power-up the BB).
Everyone needs a break; watch the sunset, read a book, or enjoy a glass of wine with friends (my favorite).
Thanks for sharing. I agree. Its important to remember that we weren’t born attached to these gadgets. BTW, I love the picture of the cat.