Always Plugged in…

November 13, 2008 at 8:07am - Comments

Other than last weekend, I’m almost always plugged in. I pride myself on this. I carry around two phones, both with ‘net access. One is for work, and the other for personal, but both are pulling in information, news, and texts.

So I shut down for last weekend. Took no calls, just Twittered a bit and stayed in tune with email web browsing. And finally checked personal voicemail on Monday. Holy hell! 14 voicemails… Seriously?

Well – after not taking calls for the first time in months, I wished I had. In those voicemails were messages from family letting me know of my aunt’s passing. Anna, who was my mom’s midwife. An amazing person.

Voicemail is not the way to hear this. That sucks. There’s something to be said about staying connected.

Written on an iPhone on a slow-moving train.

TimWalker

Sol -- My condolences on your aunt's passing. But (if my experience is any guide) please don't let this sour you on the idea of healthy disconnection. There are interim steps between "always connected" and "disconnected." After feeling overwhelmed by cell calls, I started diligently checking out who the calls were coming from -- before answering, before checking voicemail. It allows me to keep up with anything *genuinely* urgent from family & close friends, while (rightfully) putting off work-related stuff until Monday.

Wish I had more profound advice to offer, but that's just my nuts-and-bolts experience.

Sol Young

Thanks Tim - sincerely appreciated. There is a middle ground here. I think I was getting to the point of needing to push calls to voicemail and instead of screening, jumped all the way to auto-vm. Perhaps it was knee-jerk.

My work is 7 days per week because of consultants located around the country and varying work schedules I manage. Establishing a period of downtime seems like a good approach. Enforcing it upon myself is the hardest part.

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I am the manager of application development for Ingram Content Group's Philadelphia office. My team is focused on digital audiobook development, digital distribution (downloads), and client applications (Web, PC, Mac, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, PalmOS). You can reach me on my mobile at +1-707-659-6864 (70s-oly-oung) or email me at sol@solyoung.com. All opinions on my site are my own and not necessarily those of ICG.