Unplugged
by Ted Grossnickle, CFRE, Chairman and CEO
I am leaving on vacation soon, and I confess to feeling very at odds with the world about getting away from everything while on vacation. Years ago, I was told by everyone that it was wrong to occasionally sneak a listen to voicemail or take any work related reading with me. The trouble was I liked my work, didn’t consider it an interruption, didn’t do it constantly and found it didn’t distract me a bit from unwinding and recharging.
There were times I felt the folks who admonished me not to check voicemail were more worried about me violating one of their relaxation rules than they were about my own rest and relaxation.
Now, I’m seemingly even more out of touch with the world. Increasingly, with wireless internet and email access, I like to leave an “out of office message” and feel less inclined to check while vacationing. I’m not sure how I’ll handle these coming weeks, but I suspect I’ll look much less often than before.
Perhaps I should hold my iPhone and intently stare at a blank screen? I could tell anyone who might ask: “It’s from the kids.” Or “the market is really up or down” (probably the latter right now?)
It used to be that the important thing was to not think about work. Now it seems to that you are always expected to do so and that you’re not to unplug from the world.
I think I’ll just get on the sailboat and leave the phone on shore…