Bright Ideas # 62 - The Value of disconnecting  

A while back, my dad called and left a message on my cell phone late one Friday evening. When I returned his call on Monday, he was pretty upset about the delay. And he just couldn’t seem to understand my reason for not getting back to him sooner—no matter how many times I explained.

You see, I didn’t call him back because I had gone to the mountains for the weekend and (GASP!) left my cell phone at home.

Yep. You read right. I left it at home.

I did not take it with me and just leave it turned off (too tempting).

And I did not, as my dad so kindly suggested, take it along and then just not answer the calls I didn’t want to take (too much guilt).

I figure I lived more than 30 years of my life without a cell phone and did just fine. Going a few days without one probably isn’t going to kill me…

Of course, he immediately started grilling me about what I would do if I broke down, or got lost. I tried reminding him that pay phones do still exist, but he insisted it wasn’t wise to go anywhere without my phone.

Then, just this last Sunday I called to wish him a Happy Birthday, and he asked if I had seen the holiday pics my sister emailed everyone. I said, “No. I don’t check email on the weekends.”

Judging by the uncomfortable silence that followed, I think he had some trouble processing this scandalous statement too.

At first I thought my dad was the one being weird. Now I’m not so sure. Because I was just reading one of my favorite marketing newsletters and they revealed a truly shocking statistic…

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According to a study done by Virgin Mobil, one out of every five
people will actually answer their cell phones during sex!
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It’s bad enough that people take calls in restaurants, while hiking or skiing, or on a date. But really…

What is this world coming too???!!

This kind of technologically addicted behavior isn’t just bad for personal relationships, it’s bad for business.

How so?

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First, if you are always at everyone’s beck and call, you’ll never get anything done.
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People often ask me how I accomplish so much. In the last three months alone I’ve taken four weeks off for the holidays, updated my new Website, finished my first book, started my second, put out this weekly newsletter, wrote a 40 page catalog for a client, helped produce a radio show, skied twenty days, traveled to a four-day conference and, well, you get the idea.

I've found the key to doing so much is focusing on one task—and one task only—until it’s done.

If I have a copywriting project to complete or need to do some business planning, I shut down Outlook, turn off the phone, and ignore the doorbell until I’m done…Or at least for a couple of hours. Because it’s much harder to finish anything if I’m always interrupted by email, phone calls, other tasks and questions.

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Second, all that “connectedness” is just not healthy—for
you or your business.
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Human beings need time to think and process information—not go, go, go constantly. Otherwise we just end up running around stressed out and time crunched.

Having your thought processes constantly interrupted also saps your ability to be creative and come up with new ideas. On top of that, I recently heard the theory that this behavior promotes ADD.

So every week I set aside some “me time” and check out completely. That means turning off my computer and leaving my cell phone at home.

Sometimes I just take a 30-minute walk to clear my mind (I get many of my best ideas when I am nowhere near the office).

Other times, I change my voice mail message, set my email autoresponder, and leave all that work stuff behind for a weekend or longer.

Each time I do I come back refreshed and reenergized. And I get tons more work done than I would have if I hadn’t had the break (trust me on this one…I used to be a seven-day-a-week workaholic; I’ve tried it both ways).

So this week, I want to give you permission to clear your calendar and disconnect. Wait for the weekend if you have to, but do it.

Leave the cell phone, blackberry—even your iPod—at home. Or at least turn them off and put them away. Because unless you are an ER doctor, there is very little that can’t wait an hour or two.

Initially you might feel a little anxious about what you could be missing. But once you get in the habit of spending time by yourself without interruptions, you’ll feel like a new person. And you’ll become much more productive to boot!

©2002-2006 Success Stream. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

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