My cell phone stays on its charger in our home office at night and on most weekends. I choose not to have remote access for my office computer, despite my occasionally onerous commutes to and from work. I had a pager in my previous job, which stayed turned off in my office for years. Am I a Luddite? No, I just don’t believe in 24/7 access–and you shouldn’t, either.
Three simple reasons to separate work and home:
- Your sanity. All work and no play burns your brain crispier than bacon in a diner. Even the most workaholic among us needs time to do laundry, grocery shop, or sleep. Keeping work at work forces my focus and improves my time management skills.
- Your family. Your kids, spouse, parents, and other relatives deserve your undivided attention. We were having dinner at a local deli the other night and saw a family at a nearby table who were deep in their phones and iPads. Were they catching up on work? How about conversation with one’s tablemates?
- Your community. Although Washington is a 100% vote-by-mail state, there are other options for getting involved in the life of your community. It can be via your religious home, your child’s school, or local politics. As an example, I’ve recently been involved in onebothell.org to save a nearby golf course as open space and keep it from being developed.
I admit I don’t maintain this discipline consistently. I take the cell phone on weekend bike rides in case I have an accident or plan to meet up with friends. I access my work email on the weekends. Sometimes I do edit documents at home. However, if I have some heavy work to do or a deadline coming up, I will either work late or go into the office on the weekend. That way I don’t need to be on call throughout the weekend, and can enjoy myself.
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