Finding a way to unplug
It’s been a hectic week.
More than that.
It’s been a hectic few months.
Big Sea is busier than ever. Which of course is a good thing (make that a great thing!) but I find myself forgetting to pause. To step back. To close my computer and to turn off.
When you work for yourself, it’s hard to find an off switch. Emails come in and you respond – because it’s not really work, it’s just finishing a conversation.
I don’t even think of it as something I’m expected to do or as work, really – but I’m starting to realize it’s consuming me and affecting my relationships with my family, my friends, my self.
How do you do it?
Do I start setting a schedule of ‘work time’ and commit to keeping my laptop shut (and iPhone off) during the off hours?
I don’t feel obligated to work after-hours – I do it by choice because I really love what I do and am invested in my clients’ success (as cliche as that sounds, these projects consume me).
I need to take some time to unwind so that I can recharge Not a vacation (although that would be awesome), but a daily/weekly change of habit. What do you do to unplug?
4 Responses to “Finding a way to unplug”
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Melanie Says:
February 13th, 2010 at 8:35 am
I know those feelings all too well — the uncontrollable urge to just respond to an e-mail when you receive it, or the inability to “shut off” the work part of the brain. I think sometimes it’s easy to forget those days when we weren’t attached to our gadgets, and it’s a great thing to regain a bit of that lost freedom.
That said, I think you hit the nail on the head by yourself. Just turn off your computer and your phone. It’s hard at first, but you get used to it after a certain amount of time. (And people will get used to you not being on call 24/7.) And if you don’t want to just shut your phone off, then make it a personal policy not to respond to messages if you’re out with friends or in the midst of your “off” hours. I learned to remind myself that the messages will still be there in the morning.
(That was the hardest part until I got an e-mail address that was a pain to access outside of work. Suddenly I realized that I would go from 5:30 p.m. Friday to 8:30 a.m. Monday without even thinking about who may have written to me. It was glorious! Obviously it’s MUCH different for you considering your line of work, but the point is the same anyway.)Maybe try it out and see how it works. I’m sure the adjustment can and will happen if you make that conscious effort to stick to your own hours. Good luck!
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ester Says:
February 13th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
I COMPLETELY understand what you’re saying … I love what I do, and work doesn’t always feel like work. But I know it’s important to find a balance and have some completely “off” time — otherwise it can really screw up relationships with the non-entrepreneur people in your life.
Other biz people, I think they get being on work mode all the time. But for people with 9-5 type jobs, it’s hard for them to relate.
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Liz Fulcher Says:
February 13th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Ahhh so familiar, especially when it’s your own business and it begins to bloom. However, the toll will be paid in burnout, resentment and fatigue.
The same boundaries you uphold in the workplace can be applied to your personal life. Would you permit your family to run all over your office? Your friends to show up with lunch during a client meeting? Would you take a nap, watch a movie or meditate in the middle of answering important client emails? It takes discipline to keep business and self separate when we’re creating a profession, but it can be done. If you need to schedule it in your appointment book that’s okay. Even writing the word “downtime” in your calendar and turning off the computer and phone for a time works.
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Adam Leonard Says:
February 16th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I’ve come to realize some of my happiest times are when I lose my phone, it dies, or something else.
When it comes to the work place, getting focused isn’t the easiest of things to do. With Social Media distractions, to responding to e-mails.
What I do is require myself at least 2-4 hours of quiet time, where I do nothing but program (as that’s my job here). I ignore e-mails, phone calls, social medias, etc. I find I am extremely productive during this time.