Disconnecting  101

Creating Zones for Disconnection

After near two decades of being exposed to connected technologies, at one point I decided to embrace a certain discipline to allow my brain have some resting time on a regular basis. It all started while I was actually working for a tech company. Communication via e-mail and ticketing systems were an important part of my job. I didn’t mind working overtime when needed. What mattered the most to me at that time, was to know at one point the workday was over. Back then I was working full time.  What tended to tire me the most wasn’t that much the actual work, but the constant state of being connected. I started by deleting my work mailbox from my personal phone. I know this can not always be possible depending on the situation, but for me it actually worked pretty well. My rational was that there was no need for me to access work related information, if I wasn’t going to be able to act on it immediately. That way I was only doing work related activities while I was physically at work. I was often the first one to make it to the office, and last one to leave.  For real emergencies, I could be reached on my cellphone. I was able to work this way for several years. I don’t think anybody actually noticed that I wasn’t accessing work related e-mails outside of work, since I was able to respond to all work related communication in a timely manner.Continue reading